Dragonball IGNO
by Suupaa Gohan 2
Summary: Ever wonder what would have happened had GT never existed? If the series went on DIRECTLY after the end of DBZ? Well look no further! Enter the world of Dragonball AFTER the fact: IGNO, If GT Never Occured!
1. Prologue

Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Prologue

"Sayonara, Son Gokou"

Notes-

OK. This is the prologue of IGNO…and if it seems unfamiliar to you, it's because IGNO never originally had a prologue. And if it DOES seem familiar to you, it's because 99 of this is not original material…it's just the ending of the last episode of Dragonball Z…only I wrote it up in a prose format in my style. Basically this is just to recap the important events that took place before IGNO actually gets going…and the last paragraph, pretty much the only part that IS original material, sets the stage for chapter 1 to open. So…Enjoy.

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman 2/1/06

Sparks of lightning flit about the crowded stadium like loose fireflies. The crowd is silent, mouths agape as they watch in amazement the spectacle on the stadium before them. Standing, fist to fist, a grown man dressed in a blue martial arts Dogi and a young dark-skinned boy face one another, tense and unmoving, each carefully monitoring the other for an opening. In a flash, they move, almost faster than the eyes in the stadium can follow. The group of people gathered in the private lounge are in awe at the sight of Son Gokou, the Earth's strongest warrior, being matched equally by a boy no more than ten years of age. Little did these people, however; these lifelong friends and family of Son Gokou, acknowledge that this boy was no ordinary child, but rather the reincarnation of the evil monster Majin Buu who terrorized the planet over a decade prior.

In an instant they move, in perfect synchronicity, finally losing the underdeveloped eyes of the ordinary humans in the crowd. Humans who came to the Tenka'Ichi Budoukai to witness a spectacular martial arts battle, unaware that they would be treated to the spectacle of the two strongest warriors on the planet locked in a dead-even bout.

"There's no mistaking it!" shouts the wild-haired man. "You really are that evil Buu's reincarnation!"

Paying the older man's words no mind, the dark-skinned Uubu leaps at him in a blind rage. Caught unaware by the man's unparalleled fighting experience, the boy is lifted into the air and taken sky-high as the man, the great Son Gokou, takes flight, only to tighten his grip on the boy and slam him head first into the concrete below. As the rubble clears, the boy rises, unscathed, taking his stance in preparation to launch another assault. Gokou wipes the sweat from his brow, astounded that the boy is still standing.

"Amazing…Bit by bit he's increasing his speed to match mine!" Gokou says before he is caught up in another barrage of furious blows. The crowd is stunned breathless as the announcer goes over the play-by-play-or, the best he can give from his point of view. More sparks of electricity dance across the two opponent's bodies as they continue to match one another's attacks-fist meeting fist, knee meeting knee, foot meeting foot in a remarkable contest of strength.

His rage yet to break over the older man's previous taunts, the young boy clasps his fists together, jumping into the sky and smashing his elder in a fierce direct-hit. This time, it is Gokou who is buried beneath a pile of rocks and rubble on the deteriorating arena. Escaping his entrapment with a burst of power, Gokou emerges to counter the ever-vigorous Uubu. As the boy engages his senior opponent in a furious charge, the older man merely lifts off into the sky again, hovering off the ground above the ring.

"H-h-he's FLYING!" the boy manages to shout in disbelief at the sight of the man floating in the sky not so far above.

"Ka…" the seasoned martial artist begins, cupping his hands together and charging his energy into the palms. "Me…Haaaaaaaah…"

The crowd is lost in breathless surrender as the two competitors continue to astound and amaze. However, as Gokou puts more energy into his technique, the very stadium below begins to crumble. Struggling to stay on his feet, Uubu scrambles to avoid falling from the ring and declaring himself an automatic out. Seeing the young warrior struggle, Gokou halts his attack and dives back down, grasping the boy's arm tightly and holding him inches above the ground. Confused as to why his opponent would do such a thing, the boy looks to the man above him.

"Oh, that's it, you don't know how to fly yet, right? Well, I guess that's pretty normal, since no one's ever taught you how. You probably never even considered it before."

Taking the boy and landing on the ground below, the older man continues to speak.

"I'm sorry for saying all that bad stuff before. Can you forgive me? I only wanted to see what you could do." The young boy is confused as Gokou goes on. "If I didn't, I don't think you would have fought against me so seriously. But it looks like I was right about who you are. You're incredible!"

Uubu stands in embarrassment, staring up at the older man in disbelief. Was this man really complimenting him as an equal?

"But, you don't know how to USE that power o' yours yet. This is probably the first real fight you've ever had, right?" Gokou folds his arms across his chest, pacing the area back and forth. "Hm…I've got it. How 'bout I live with you for a while? I can teach you how to fight. I'm sure after that you'll get way stronger. Right? What do you say?"

He looks down at the boy, awaiting an answer. Pushing past his shock, the boy manages to pull out a response.

"S-stronger? But…"

"Hn? What's wrong?"

"I…I can't." he says sadly. "My family is poor. The whole reason I came here was for the prize money."

"Hey hey, don't worry about the money! I can get Mr. Satan to give you some. He's got a lot, since he's such a big hero."

"But—"

"You don't need to be so humble about it. Besides, if there were any big trouble some day, you would be the only one who could protect the peace!" The boy pauses, considering the older fighter's words. Before he has a chance to speak back, however, Gokou once again takes into the sky, hovering over towards the private lounge building where his friends and family are watching.

"Otousan!" calls the man's first son, Son Gohan. Gohan, too, had at one time been a great warrior, strong and brave…before the years of peacetime caused him to change his passion for fighting over to that of a scholarly pursuit.

"Heh," Gokou speaks aloud. "Turns out I'm gonna live with that guy and train him." And with no more than those few words, he floats back down to the annoyance of his long-time friends. He stops in mid-air, turning back to face the group and waving casually.

"I dunno how many years it will be, but I'll come back now and again. Please take care, alright?"

"But Otousan, why are you…" Gohan trails off.

"Ja!" Always a man of simple and few words, Gokou can only give a one-word response for the bomb he has just dropped. Hovering lower, he lands on the tiled floor beneath the building, greeting two of the planet's last promising young heroes-his second son, Son Goten, and the son of his long-standing rival Vegeta, Goten's best friend Trunks.

"Otousan…" Goten whispers as his father approaches the two of them.

"Gokou-san…" the other boy trails off, just as confused as his friend. Just before the older warrior is able to speak, however, a small girl comes running over to him, tears flowing from her eyes. It's Pan, Gohan's 4-year old daughter, and granddaughter of the great Son Gokou.

"Jiichan!" she cries, leaping into her grandfather's arms as he scoops her up lovingly.

"What's wrong, Pan?" he asks worriedly.

"Is it true? What you were talking about just now, is it true?"

"Yeah." He duly notes, taken slightly aback as his young granddaughter is once again driven to tears. Clearly taking after her grandfather, her emotion is transferred to her fists and she begins rapidly punching the older man.

"No!" she yells. "I can't…Jiichan! I can't handle not seeing you! I don't want to!" Having expended her energy, she calms herself and surrenders into hugging her grandfather tightly. Lovingly, he pats her on the back, trying to comfort the small girl.

"Hey, hey, Pan…it's not like I won't see you again…I said I was gonna come back time to time, didn't I?" At the promising sound of those words, she looks up, tears drying in her small eyes.

"Really?"

"Yeah! It's a promise. Please don't cry." Heeding her grandfather's words, she wipes the tears from her cheeks, smiling brightly. "There you go. Good girl." Holding her to him tightly, he turns back to the two boys standing before them.

"Now don't you two forget to keep up on your training, either! Same with that guy, Earth's peace is on your shoulders now."

Taking the man's words in, Goten and Trunks look at one another, then back to their great mentor with smiles on their young faces.

"Right!" the cry simultaneously, hope brimming in their voices. Still sitting comfortably in the older man's arms, Pan looks up at her grandfather, a smile on her face as well.

"I'll train too! I'll get strong just like you, Jiichan!"

"Yeah, that's it!" he laughs out, pleased to no end by the confidence exuded by his young son and niece. Setting the girl down on the ground, he steps over to the man who stands with his arms folded, back against the opposing wall nearby.

"I'm sorry, Vegeta." He tells his long-time rival. "And after I did all that to get you to come all the way out here…" In a very unlikely manner for the shorter man, he can only smile.

"Hn. In these rinky-dink fights, we both know that neither of us, or even that Uubu kid for that matter, could go all out anyway." Gokou can only laugh at his fellow Saiyajin's words.

"Hahahaha, you said it!" Waving goodbye as he turns away, he says his final goodbye to a former enemy turned ally. "Ja na."

Flying back to the ring, Gokou returns to Uubu, who has been waiting patiently. Gesturing for the boy to climb onto his back, Gokou prepares to take off once again, this time not knowing when he will make his return. As the dark-skinned boy climbs aboard his one-way ticket to the promise of incredible power, Uubu can only smile warmly.

"Your house is on a southern island, right?"

"Y-yes."

"OK, hold on tight, Uubu!"

"Yes!"

And with that, to the amazement of friends, family, and millions of ordinary humans packing the stadiums, Son Gokou, the greatest martial artist the planet Earth, nay, perhaps the universe has ever known, takes off into the vast sky of the blue planet; the boy on his back the embodiment of a power rivaling his own as the blood of the former evil Majin Buu courses through his veins. And as their aura bursts outward and vanishes just as quickly into the clouds beyond, the very people who know him best accept the departure of such a great man, knowing full-well that he will live up to his word that he will return someday.

However, what may be an easy thing to accept for people who have known Son Gokou since he was a boy may not be as acceptable to others. Namely, as the aura twinkles off in the distance, a young boy of only seventeen years watches, a sinking feeling in his heart. The father whom he grew up without knowing was once again leaving his life-And Goten didn't know how to go about his daily life as if this was not a big deal.

End of Prologue


	2. Chapter 1

Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Chapter 1

"Mystery! Dark Back Alley and the Strange Boy"

Notes-

Alright, people! Welcome to IGNO Revisited! I've realized a number of things I've done wrong since I came up with this piece of crap story nearly two years ago, and I'm hoping through some MAJOR revision I can finally make it something people will want to read and enjoy. A couple of notes on the new version of IGNO, though. The story, although mostly present in my head since I never got around to typing much of it, has naturally deviated slightly off the true Dragonball path. I mean, as much as I love this series, and always WILL, constant fighting can only be interesting for so long. Sure, the fights in IGNO will be as classic as I can possibly make them in terms of heavy fist-to-fist and energy-using combat, but I would like to make IGNO like more modern Manga, and shift a lot of the focus to plot, character development and the like. Besides, what may work well in a Manga in terms of battles upon battles may not work so effectively in the medium of fanfiction-as a writer, I need to focus not only on what I have come to know, love and respect from Dragonball, but create elements that make an interesting and well-read story. So, in short, IGNO is going to try to be as true to the nature of Dragonball as I can possibly make it with the absence of Gokou and all...But there's going to be much more to it than non-stop fighting. In terms of my other reasons for revising this yet again…well, actually the MAIN reason I'm redoing IGNO so thoroughly is because IGNO was originally written entirely in script form. As in like a screenplay. This is why originally rejected it, and why I think the readership is so small…Well, I've become a much better writer in the time since, and I'm a bit more confident since I got a solid A+ for my final grade in Creative Writing last semester. With all these things in mind I'm hoping IGNO can be my best work in all senses…and I really hope you'll all enjoy it. So without further ado, here's the newly revised first chapter of IGNO!

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman, 2/2/06

It is a quiet, peaceful afternoon, not unusual for the great blue planet Earth these days. Approximately 3 months prior, the Earth's greatest hero Son Gokou made his departure, his whereabouts unknown to even his closest family and friends; several of these friends more than talented enough, one would believe, to be able to sense the man's energy signal and be able to track him down in no time. However, it is believed that although Gokou's allies and fellow warriors COULD locate him if need be, they realize that Gokou left of his own free will and dragging him back for selfish reasons would not be the right thing to do. The last time they saw Gokou he was smiling; genuinely happy. Not even his wife and sons wanted to come between the one they loved the most and the thing HE loved the most-the promise of a strong new opponent.

It wasn't as difficult to deal with as they had thought, afterall. For the people like Bulma, Oolong, Yamcha, Puar, Kuririn, and even Gokou's wife Chi-Chi, they were used to the man's puzzling and often enigmatic behavior. They had known him since he was a boy, afterall. Ever since those days all he had on his mind was fighting…well, fighting and perhaps _eating_, but overall, martial arts had been the warrior's life since he was a child. Of course, one could come to expect nothing less of one of the last surviving members of the Saiyajin; a race of people originally from the planet Vegetasei who had the desire to fight ingrained into their bodies from birth. The thrill that could only come from fighting a strong opponent was something that flowed through Gokou's blood itself, and whether or not this was solely a factor of his outer-planetary heritage or just his upbringing; being trained by some of this world's greatest martial arts masters such as the Turtle Master Muten Roshi or his dearly departed adoptive grandfather Son Gohan; such an answer was unknown. Nonetheless, as those who had always been closest to him, Gokou's friends knew he was out there somewhere, and he was happy.

Not everyone close to the warrior had always been a "friend", in either case. Some of his oldest friends were originally foes from the time when he was still a boy. Tenshinhan, Chaozu, and even the quiet Namekseijin warrior Piccolo who was sprung from Gokou's old rival the great demon king Piccolo Daimaoh; they could never pass up a chance to compete against the strong young man, even after they had become allies. And in the case of Vegeta, a fellow Saiyajin and former prince of the race, and a man who had been Gokou's bitter rival and even enemy for nigh on two decades…being Saiyajin himself he no doubt understood the man's true motives. Fighting a strong opponent was in his blood, and Gokou would never be as happy living a peaceful life with his family as he would be in the heat of battle. As sad a truth as that may have been for the man's first son, Son Gohan (named for the man's dear old grandfather who had never been forgotten), he knew it to be truth as well.

Gohan understood his father's nature just as well, but although he himself had Saiyajin blood coursing through is veins, Gohan had always been different. Being a mere half-breed, what with a human mother, Gohan's desire to battle was never very strong, ever since he was a boy. Certainly, his power was immense, and in several cases even surpassed that of his father, but the boy had never enjoyed the thrill of battle that most Saiyajin thrived on. In times of peace, Gohan had stopped his training altogether, becoming a successful and studious scholar as his mother had always dreamed him to be. Now, at the age of nearly 27 years, Gohan was married and had a family of his own. His daughter, Pan, although having a mere quarter of Saiyajin blood in her veins, proved to herself be a great fighter…putting her now weakened father to shame. However, even the young girl, being no more than four years of age, was able to accept her grandfather's wishes of taking off and leaving them behind. Sharing with him a final promise to become stronger, Pan smiled and waved goodbye as her grandfather took off to the sky. Surely, everyone who had been close to him had come to accept his reasons for leaving…Everyone, except, perhaps one…

Gokou had another son. This boy of 17 years, by the name of Son Goten, was perhaps the only one in the man's vast extended family to be unwilling and unable to come to terms with his sudden departure. Around the time of Goten's conception, due to the unusual circumstances that the group was caught up in, Gokou was killed in battle. Although they could have revived the man with the incredible wish-granting power of the Dragonballs; seven magic spheres of unusual origin in which the great Dragon God Shenlong resides, Gokou contacted his friends from the afterlife and had decided he didn'twant to be brought back to life. Deeming himself a magnet for most of the danger to envelop his friends and family, Gokou had decided it best to stay out of the picture for the sake of the ones he loved. However, as a result, he was absent for the birth of his second son, and for the first seven years of the boy's life. Goten had grown up without the influence of a father, and more likely than not this was a large factor in his constant clinging to his older brother. He had always been admittedly jealous of his best friend Trunks, son of the Saiyajin Prince Vegeta, for having such a proud and strong father when he had none. But nonetheless, Goten had loved his brother more than anyone in the world, constantly sparring with the older boy and bearing a striking resemblance to his deceased father not only physically, but his very nature as well. In an odd sense, Goten became very much like the father he had never known.

It wasn't until he was a little boy of seven years that Goten got to meet his father for the first time, when the man was rewarded a single day on Earth for his outstanding behavior both in his prior life on Earth and his time spent in the World of Afterlife. Goten quickly became attached to the man, finally being able to spend time with the father he had never known. And although the majority of this time was spent once again fighting off a bloodthirsty demon bent on plunging the planet into eternal darkness, Goten came to love his father. Finally, when the battle and the bloodshed had ended, Gokou was rewarded by the Great Old Kaiohshin himself-he had been given his life back, and would be able to spend it on Earth once again with the family he loved.

For the ten years Goten spent with his father, little by little the fact that he had never known the man seemed to be erased from his memory. It was as if Gokou had been there all his life, and he became accustomed to that. For a boy who had never been able to claim that which most boys hold dear for their futures-wanting to be just like their fathers-Goten could finally say that he would aspire to be a great warrior just like the man some day. So, of course, never having known his father prior; never having known the man's habit of taking off and doing whatever suited him at the particular time and place, Goten was not so easily accepting of his father's departure. He wasn't so easily swayed by his words of, "I don't know how many years it will take, but I promise I'll come back time and time again". He couldn't just lie down and go about his life as if nothing had happened-he had lost the father that he had just become acquainted with. And with a brother who had become weak in times of peace, he felt betrayed. Disgusted. Initially he hated his father; hated him for becoming so close to him only to abandon him in the end. But something within him told him that he couldn't hate the man, and so he took his final message to him to heart. "Don't you forget your training, either. Just like him, the peace of Earth is on your shoulders now."…And so, from dusk to dawn, every day for the three months since the man's departure, Goten did nothing but train. He would become stronger, for his father…and most of all, to erase the shame and bitter disgust he felt over what his once admirable older brother had become.

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Mid-afternoon, out in the lush green front lawn of the Son House, Goten works vigorously on his training. He is clad in a modified version of the Dogi he wore as a child; orange and blue like the traditional uniform of the long forgotten Kame school, the sleeves from the guise when he was a boy torn off at the shoulders for greater mobility, black belt holding his baggy orange pants against his slim hips. He fires a rapid volley of punches and kicks at an imaginary foe, dealing damage that would surely cripple an ordinary flesh-and-blood opponent. From inside the house, his mother pokes her head out the window into the fresh air to call to her son.

"Goten-chan!" At the sound of his mother's voice, the boy halts his solitary sparring session, turning his gaze upwards to face her.

"What is it, Okaasan?"

"Telephone."

"Tell whoever it is I'm busy." Scowling slightly, he turns his focus back to training. "Probably another stupid girl calling to ask me out…As if I don't get enough of that…" he grits through clenched teeth before leaping into the air, doing a back flip and landing again, launching several roundhouse kicks.

"No", comes the reply from his mother. "It's Trunks-kun." At the mention of his best friend's name, Goten freezes, a wide smile spreading across his face.

"Well why didn't you say so!" he half-barks, dropping what he's doing to make a mad dash to the front door.

Tearing inside the house and up the stairs, he rips the receiver out of his mother's hand. Grin never leaving his face, he brings the phone to his mouth and is greeted by his friend's voice.

"Oh, hey Trunks-kun!...Yeah…oh, really?...What, you mean now?...Oh, well, I guess…I'm not doing anything, so, sure!...OK, yeah. …OK, cool, I'll meet you there in about 20 minutes. …Alright, see ya!"

Pressing the button to hang up, he near shoves the phone back into his mother's hand, bolting to his bedroom without a word otherwise. Chi-Chi is a bit taken aback by her son's unusual behavior all of a sudden and calls to him from down the hallway.

"You sure seem to be in a hurry! What did he want?"

Down the hall in his room, Goten hastily tears off the orange top of his uniform followed by the weighted blue under covering, tossing them in a heap on the bed.

"Nothin' special, just to hang out!" he calls back. He rummages through his dresser drawers, grabbing for a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt and tossing them in a folded pile on the foot of his bed.

"That's it?" she cries back a bit surprised. "You're in an aweful hurry just to hang out with your friend!"

Goten can only laugh to himself in response as he changes out of the orange baggy pants and into the jeans. He then pulls the small blue bracers from his wrists, pulling on in place a pair of black fingerless gloves and kicking off his shoes in favor of a pair of red and yellow sneakers.

"Well, don't be gone all day, alright?" Chi-Chi calls back once again, peeking her head into the door to her son's room. "I know how you boys are. Don't forget we have dinner plans tonight with your brother and his family." For a split second, Goten freezes, the blood in his veins turning to ice to match the cold glare upon his face. Remembrance, perhaps, of the reason for the dinner plans that evening.

"Right, right, I know." He says coldly. "God forbid I should blow off another mindless boring dinner celebration of the great King Nerd winning another lame award in favor of actually having FUN with my best friend…" His mother glares at him.

"Hey, now! I don't want to hear you talking that way about your brother!"

Goten can only "hmph" in response as he pulls the white T-shirt over his head. The front reads "Goten Son". Finally dressed, he pauses over by the open window next to his bed, turning to wave back at his mother.

"I'll be back in a little bit, OK Okaasan?"

"But, Gote—"

"Don't wait up!" is the last thing he says before leaping out the window, engaging his aura and flying at top speed away from the house. Glancing after his vanishing form from the window, Chi-Chi sighs and wipes a bead of sweat from her forehead.

"He's just like his father…"

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"Kin To'Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!"

Goten pauses in mid-flight as a gleaming golden cloud comes to his call, halting in front of the dark-haired boy. Hopping onto the sorely ignored cloud's back, he points off into the far distance.

"There, Kin To'Un! Let's go!"

He holds on tightly and flies on cloudback until reaching a large green field. With his keen eyesight, Goten can see his friend waiting below. Smiling, he jumps off the golden candy cloud, waving to it as it zooms away and he free falls through the air. Sensing his friend's energy signal spike nearby, the handsome lavender-haired teen turns his head skyward and notices his friend touch down on the ground nearby.

"Hey, Trunks-kun!" he exclaims gleefully, a huge grin gracing his face.

"Glad you could make it. You ready to go?" comes the reply.

"Yeah, but don't let me forget. I need to be back home by about…" he glances at his watch. "5:00 PM tonight, so…my mom said we can't stay out too long." Trunks frowns slightly, but then perks up.

"Aw, well. We've still got plenty of time until then, right?" he says, punching the other boy playfully in the shoulder. Goten smiles.

"So, what's the deal?" asks Trunks. "Why do you need to be back so early?"

"Oh, it's nothing really, just…" Trunks watches curiously as his friend becomes distressed, moving to sit on a nearby boulder. "We're havin' dinner…with my big brother."

"So, what's wrong with that?" Trunks asks, sitting down beside his friend. "Since when do YOU have a problem with getting free food?" he says grinning, hoping the joke will cause his friend to crack a smile. It is to no avail, however, as Goten sighs and rests his face in the palms of his hands, leaning forward.

"It's not that, it's just…the whole thing is some celebration for him winnin' some kind of stupid award. It's always the same these days…" Trunks looks at him slightly confused, shifting to sit closer to the other boy.

"Oh, you mean how he's a scholar now, right? How he doesn't fight anymore?"

"…Yeah."

There is silence for a long while as neither says anything. Nothing but the sound of the wind blowing through the trees as Goten stares longingly into the distance. Memories, Trunks figured. He was an only child so he didn't understand; had no advice to give. But he did know one thing-he hated to see his best friend upset or discouraged. Slinging his arm around the other boy's shoulder, he tried his best to comfort him in the only ways he knew how.

"I understand you miss the old days, Goten. To be honest, I miss 'em too. I remember when we were little kids, and all we ever did was hang out with Gohan-san." Trunks smiles a bit, getting a slight chuckle out of the dark-haired boy.

"Heh, we did use to follow him everywhere, didn't we?"

"Yup, we sure did." Trunks answers. "I mean, I never had a brother…but whenever my mom or dad didn't have time for me, I always went straight to Gohan-san. I guess to me he felt like a brother."

"Yeah…he was a good brother, wasn't he?"

"Hey, now, don't say 'was' like it's past tense, Goten! It's not like he's ever stopped being a good brother to you, is it?" Trunks looks at his friend for a moment.

"…Well, I guess he's never been a _bad_ brother, but…" he pauses. "Well, I dunno, I just feel like he doesn't have TIME for me anymore…"

"Well of course not, he's got his own family now! He has a wife and a daughter to support, and you can't expect him to make any money with martial arts, can you?"

"I know…and I love Videl-san and Pan-chan, don't get me wrong." He shifts in position a little bit, lifting a hand to brush the hair from his face. "I don't know, Trunks-kun. It's just, between 'Niichan and his life, and now Otousan takin' off, it's just… Sometimes I just feel…" He buries his head in his hands.

"Sometimes I just feel so alone. Y'know?" He looks up at the lavender-haired boy, the look on his face like a disheartened child. Trunks cringes, hating to see his friend so hurt. Shifting closer, he pats the other boy on the back and smiles.

"Hey, you're never ALONE." He says quietly. "Not so long as you've got me. And I promise that I'LL never leave you, Goten." The words strike the younger boy hard, and he can't help but smile in turn.

"…Thanks Trunks-kun, I appreciate that." After another long moment of silence, Trunks removes his arm from the smaller boy's shoulder. Goten shivers for a moment at the loss of warmth, but shrugs it off. Trunks gets to his feet.

"Well, what do you say we make the most of what time we have before you head out after Gohan-san, ne?" Trunks says with his usual mischievous grin.

"What do you mean?" Goten asks curiously.

"You know…speaking of the old days, and all…"

He continues to grin evilly at the dark-haired boy, who remains blissfully oblivious to his friend's unusual tone. The cold wind strikes him on the cheek and before he knows it his friend is running away from him at full speed.

"What th—Trunks-kun!"

"ONETWOTHREEREADYSETGO!" he says quickly, the words running together as he dashes into the distance.

"What the Hell! Trunks-kun, you cheating BASTARD!" is all he can manage before rushing after his friend, anger is his voice but a smile on his face as the two boys race one another…a playful game identical to those they played as children. Goten closes his eyes against the rush of wind and smiles at the realization of his friends' behavior-bringing him back to the old days. He smiles wider and runs even faster, desperate to catch up to the other boy.

"Hahahaha, just try and keep up NOW, slowpoke!" Trunks laughs aloud, Goten at his heels as they near the edge of a lake.

"What do you plan to do now, Trunks-kun?" Goten says, smirking evilly. "Or did you not see the giant LAKE? You dumbass!" Laughing inwardly, Trunks uses the Zanzouken technique to create an after-image of himself just as Goten skids past him. Reappearing behind him, he shoots both his arms forward and into the other boy's back.

"Oh, I saw it, alright." He says as he pushes his friend face-first into the lake below with a gigantic splash. Within seconds, Goten's head bursts forth through the water, gasping for air. His face turns red with anger at the sight of his friend on the cliff above him, holding his stomach and laughing insanely.

"Wahahahahaha! NOW who's the dumbass, Goten! Look at you, you're SOAKED!"

"Grrr, Trunks-kun…"

"Hahahahahaha! Need me to throw you a towel, Goten!"

"You son of a bitch…" Trunks tries desperately to catch his breath through the laughing, not even noticing as his friend disappears from the water below. The next thing he feels is Goten's energy signal behind him, but before he has the chance to counter it's his turn to be pushed into the water.

"See how YOU like it, ya cocky bastard!" Goten shouts as he watches his friend fall into the lake with a splash. Before he can begin to gloat, however, he loses his own balance and slips down the banking into the water once again. For a long time the two can do nothing but laugh at the other, kicking and splashing around as if they were children again.

"Trunks-kun you bastard! I'll get you for that!"

"You'll have to catch me first, dumbass!" Kicking Goten square in the face, Trunks takes off through the water, swimming furiously to the other side, turning back only occasionally to watch his friend struggling behind him. Goten stops, wiping the water from his eyes and noting the other boy has already beaten him to the other side.

"Hn. You're a sneaky bastard, Trunks-kun." Smiling, he begins to swim after him at his own pace to the other side.

"Na-na-na-na-na-na! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I win! You lose! SUCKER!" Goten says nothing as his friend gloats over his victory. "Is there ANYTHING that I can't beat you in! I mean, come ON!"

"No, no, you're right, Trunks-kun. I can never win against you in anything. Because you CHEAT all the time!"

"Aw, come off it already. That wasn't cheating. You're just a sore loser is all." Goten shrugs it off, trying to change the subject.

"Whatever, let's just drop it already. Come on, let's get out of here. It's already late, and now thanks to you I'm soaked."

"Aw come on, man. Don't pretend that you didn't have fun just now." Goten tries to hide the smile forming on his face.

"…Well even if I DID, that's not the point." Trunks grins, pleased that his little detour of plans was at least good for cheering the other boy up a bit.

"Come on, let's get out of here." He says again.

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"Trunks-kun?"

Goten looks up at the clouds, arms spread out across him as he lies next to his friend on the soft grass.

"Yeah?" Goten rolls over slightly, turning his gaze from the sky to the lavender-haired boy.

"D'you ever feel that life's kinda boring when the Earth's at peace like this?"

"N? How do you mean?" the older teen asks, slightly confused.

"Well, I dunno…" Goten goes on, once again gazing at the passing clouds. "I mean, d'you ever kinda MISS the danger? I guess I just feel like I'm always training, 'cuz I made a promise to my dad, but…I mean, what's the point? When the world's so peaceful like this, is there really a need for martial arts?" He pauses, waiting for his friend to give an answer. Trunks sighs deeply, thinking it over a bit before rolling onto his side to face his friend.

"I'm not sure myself."

"Hey! What kind of an answer is that!" Goten half-barks. Trunks laughs faintly, rolling onto his back and folding his arms behind his head. "I just wish something would happen…exciting. I'm just so BORED these days, I mean...Maybe I'm not only doing this for my dad, afterall…" Trunks looks at the other boy quizzically, taken aback by the cryptic remark.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well…" Goten trails off, shifting to make himself more comfortable. He brings his hand up to his forehead, shielding his eyes from the bright sun blazing above. "I guess another reason that I wish that something big and exciting would happen…is because I WANT to fight. I feel guilty wanting the Earth to fall into danger for something like that, but…I want to test my powers against strong opponents and push myself to my limits…just like my dad." He rolls over, looking intently at Trunks. "Is that weird?" The lavender-haired boy breathes a heavy sigh, closing his eyes.

"It's not weird, Goten. You're Saiyajin, afterall. It's only natural that you have the desire to fight. It's in your blood."

"So, do you ever feel that way? I mean, do you ever kinda thirst for the danger?"

"…Sometimes, I guess. But it's different for me."

"How so?"

"Well, think about it." He says, rolling closer to Goten. "You train of your own free will, right? Even if you made a promise to Gokou-san, no one is FORCING you to…"

"Well, I guess…I never thought of it that way before…"

"Yeah. Well try living with a dad like mine. All he ever does is make me train, day in and day out. And if he ever decides that I'm not pushing myself hard enough as it is, he gets on my ass even more and forces me to work HARDER. I mean…I honestly don't know if I would WANT to train after the crap he puts me through. So for me, a relaxing day like this is more enjoyable than fighting, sometimes."

"Huh…" Goten muses, thinking his friend's words over. "Well you're stronger than me, too, so you don't have—" he shuts up abruptly, noticing the other boy turning to face him with an evil smirk on his face.

"What was that, Goten?" he teases. "Could it be that you're jealous of me? Because you've never beaten me in a fight before, is that it?"

"What? I didn't say that!" He blushes. Trunks tries to hold in a chuckle.

"Heh, you don't have to say it, it's written all over your face!"

"W-whatever…anyways…" he pauses. "Trunks-kun, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"…Are you stronger than Vegeta-san?" he says in an almost whisper, as if fearful the Saiyajin Prince himself will overhear the comment. Trunks laughs.

"Well, Papa would never admit it, but…I think I am. Not by much, but…" he trails off, moving closer still to his friend.

"Can I…tell you a secret, Goten?"

"…Sure, what?"

"Well…I think Papa pushes me so hard isn't so I can be stronger than him…but so I can STAY stronger than you!"

"What? But you're already way stronger 'n—er, I mean…you're already plenty strong!"

"Well, you know how my dad is…he's always been obsessed with getting stronger than your dad, but…well, now that you're dad's gone, I think he's actually sad…"

"What! Vegeta-san MISSES my dad!"

"Well, in his own weird way, yeah. So…well…" he looks at Goten curiously. "You have to PROMISE that you won't tell him I told you this, OK?"

"OK, I promise."

"Alright, well…because seriously he would KILL me if—"

"Trunks-kun I said I promise!"

"Alright, alright…well…Truth be told, if I had to guess…I'd say that he's trying to live out his rivalry with your dad THROUGH us…"

"What! That's insane!"

"Well, it's not THAT farfetched if you think about it. I mean, your dad is gone now, and he may feel like it's time to pass the torch from father to son. Think about it. We're the next generation, and lots of things are passed down from father to son-grudges and rivalries are certainly no exception."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Goten ponders. "But we could never be rivals! At least to the extent your dad and my dad were…we're best friends! I could never HATE you, Trunks-kun!"

"Heh, I know that! And I think he knows it too. But he still thinks—" Trunks pauses, afraid to go on. Goten looks at him curiously.

"What? What is it?"

"…Uh…OK, promise you won't get mad?"

"Not this again…yes, I promise."

"OK. Remember, these are HIS words, not mine. You know how my dad was the Saiyajin Prince…"

"Who DOESN'T know? That's all the guy ever frickin' talks about!" Goten says somewhat sarcastically. Trunks brushes the comment off and continues.

"I know. Well, anyway, just as he always thought of your dad as 'lowlife scum'…he thinks that since I have the royal Saiyajin blood, and you have the blood of…well, trash…" Trunks cringes as he watches Goten twitch slightly in anger. "Well…uh…He thinks that I'm a pretty sorry excuse for his son if I'm only one step ahead of you. He thinks I should be about four or five steps ahead of you. He kinda even hates you…I don't think I've ever once heard him say your name-it's always 'Kakarotto's spawn'."

"What! That bastard! Think of me as trash, you lousy—" Goten rises, rage boiling in his blood at the words.

"Whoa whoa calm down dude! Don't shoot the messenger, alright?" He motions for Goten to sit back down and the dark-haired boy reluctantly complies.

"Sheesh…I know I'm stronger than HIM any day…Hey, what time is it anyway?"

"Don't ask me, you're the one with the watch."

"Oh, right." Goten lifts his hand, glancing at the crystal display. "Crap…I'd better start heading back. Our reservations for 'Niichan's big dinner are for about an hour from now, and God forbid I be late…" he grits out sarcastically.

"Don't get so discouraged. I'll walk back with you." Goten looks at his friend, slightly taken aback by the offer.

"…OK, sure. Thanks, Trunks-kun."

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"Trunks-kun…" Goten says shakily, a twinge of fear in his voice. "Do we really have to walk home? I mean, wouldn't it be easier and FASTER to just FLY back to my house?"

"Relax. It's a nice day, you should enjoy it." He responds casually.

"Yeah, but…do we have to walk through the BACK ALLEYS!" he exclaims, looking around jumpily.

"Che! Don't tell me you're actually SCARED, Goten! After all that talk about being able to beat my dad?"

"Yeah, but that's different! This is the kind of place GANGS hang out!"

"Goten, you're a frickin' Super Saiyajin for Christ Sakes. You can't POSSIBLY mean to tell me you're afraid of a few thugs."

"B-b-b-but what if they have guns and knives and stuff!" Trunks can only sigh at his friend's cowardly behavior.

"Whatever…come on, I know a shortcut out of here."

"Well I know a SHORTER cut…let's not WALK, Dammit!" Despite his protests, Goten continues to follow his friend like a lost sheep. All of a sudden, the older boy pauses, looking around in confusion.

"…did you hear something?"

"Huh? No, but I was kinda zoned out…"

"…Quick, follow me." He says curtly, drawing a puzzled glance from his friend.

"What? Trunks-kun where are you—crap…wait for me already!"

As Trunks speeds through the narrow twists and turns of the alleyways, Goten dogs at his heels, trying to keep up. Finally, the lavender-haired boy skids to a stop as he reaches a wider passage. Two pairs of eyes widen at the sight of a group of about five thuggish-looking guys hassling a smaller boy in the trashcan-lined alley. The boy appears to be about Trunks and Goten's age, and he certainly doesn't look like a pushover. He is dressed in a red hooded sweatshirt and jeans, a gold chain around his neck barely visible under the thick clothing. His hair, spilling out from under a headband around his head, obscures his facial features. He does nothing but stand idly as the thugs circle him, waving a shining gold chain in his face.

"Look, punk" says one of the thugs. "I don't know what this thing is or why it's so important. All I know is that I was hired by that weird Kotaroh guy to steal it from you. I gotta say, I'm intrigued. So I'll tell you what. You tell me, right here and now, what this thing does and how to use it and I'll let you off the hook nice and easy-I'll even spare that guy the details and tell 'im we couldn't find you or somethin'-that should clear things up, right? So what do you say, eh? Be a pal and let me in on this, or get your face pounded into the cement. What'll it be?"

"…I don't have to tell you anything." Is the only response given. The gang leader grits his teeth angrily, not getting the answer he was looking for.

"LISTEN kid, we're not kidding around here! Either you tell me how to work this thing or I swear to God I'll fu—" he is cut off as he is struck in the face by an unseen-but very fast-moving-individual. He wipes blood from his chin as he skids across the ground. "Wha…what the Hell!" The other gang members look up in surprise as Goten and Trunks stand confidently before them.

"Who the Hell are you!" he gang leader asks, struggling to his feet.

"Hey punks! Why not try picking on someone your own size for a change?" Trunks says cornily. The head thug raises an eyebrow in confusion.

"What a dorky line! He IS our size, dumbass!" Trunks is caught off guard for a moment, stammering and trying to power through is embarrassment.

"Uh, well, that is…just leave him alone you big…uh…dumb…guy!" Goten slaps his forehead, amazed at how lame his friend can be given the right opportunity.

"Trunks-kun…" he sighs.

"Look, this doesn't concern you, pretty-boy. Why don't you mind your own business and we'll pretend like we never even saw you. You can avoid getting your pretty little face smeared in blood that way." He snubs Trunks, turning back to the stoic boy with the chain. "Now as for you…I gave you a chance. Now we're gonna handle this OUR way. Guys!" he orders, causing the other gang members to form up around him. "Show this kid who he's dealing with."

"HEY!" Trunks shouts, trying to draw attention back to himself. "Don't IGNORE me, asshole! I was just getting ready to make my dramatic speech!" The gang leader glares, turning back to face him.

"You are beginning to annoy me." He looks back to his lackeys. "Change of plans. Take care of these two clowns first."

"Clowns? OK, now I'm angry!" Trunks yells, elbowing one of the thugs in the head and knocking him back against a wall. The leader's eyes widen in momentary surprise before he signals his other lackeys to attack the lavender-haired boy.

"What do you think you're doing! Get him!"

Trunks leaps into the air, drop-kicking another of the gang members. As he lands, he is surrounded by the other three who promptly pull knives on him. He dodges several blows, his eye suddenly catching his friend standing idly by and watching the scene.

"What the Hell are you doing, Goten! Get over here and back me up!"

Goten nods in compliance, swiftly ducking behind and knocking one of the thugs out cold with a chop to the back of the neck. Clearly agitated by now, the gang leader reaches for a gun and points it at the back of Trunks' head.

"Eat this, you Damn brat!" he says as he fires.

"Trunks-kun, look—" Goten cries in horror as the bullet speeds to at his friend. In a flash, without even turning around, he shoots his hand back and catches the bullet, crushing it into dust.

"Thanks for the warning, Goten, but I think we both know a bullet isn't a match for either of us." The gang leader drops to his knees on the ground, the gun falling from his shaking hand as he stares in awe at the powderized former-bullet on the ground. For just a moment, the chain-bearing boy's eyes widen, something within him seemingly triggered by the sight.

"W-w-w-w-who ARE you guys!" the thug says, voice trembling in terror. Without any other forethought, he brings his hand to his mouth and whistles loudly. Goten and Trunks look at him in confusion as the sound calls forth several other gang members from the woodwork, rushing to their fellow's aid.

"Oh come on, you think it matters how MANY of you there are?" Trunks says in annoyance, moving to punch out a few of the shiv-wielding gangsters without breaking a sweat. "If you're weak you're weak, buddy. Nothin' I can do to help you with that." Goten grins at his friends words, taking on his own fair share of gangsters with a couple swift kicks and sweeps. Within seconds all of the thugs have either retreated or been knocked unconscious on the asphalt. Goten steps over to the apparent leader, who still sits shaking against the back of a brick wall.

"I think you have something that doesn't belong to you, Ojisan." He says calmly, snatching the chain from the man's hand. Trunks moves to stand over him as well, grinning evilly.

"What did I tell you? Maybe in the future you'll think twice about committing petty crimes in the back alleys of Satan City, ne? Now get out of here." Heeding the boy's words, the gang leader hastily runs off, not saying a word further. Goten and Trunks high-five over their achievement. The boy in the hooded sweatshirt watches them from the distance, his face written in shock.

_There's no way…_ he thinks to himself. _I know those gang members were nothing, and I could have handled them within seconds, but…to find people like THIS in the bad parts of this city? It can't be that these are the ones that…_

"Now, then…" Trunks says as they walk back over to the mysterious boy.

"They shouldn't be bothering you anymore." He says somewhat boastfully.

"Here's your chain back." Goten says, presenting it in his hand. Glaring, the boy grabs it out of his hand and shoves it into his pocket, snarling. Goten steps back slightly.

"Whoa!"

"Hey, kid, what the Hell do you think you're doing! Is that anyway to treat the guys that just tried to help you out?"

"I didn't ASK for your assistance." He replies coldly, turning his back on the two and walking away.

_Those two are DEFINITELY not human._ he thinks, recalling the scene he had just witnessed. _To be able to exert such power and speed without so much as breaking a sweat…to be able to move like that, to jump that high…There's no doubt about it. I've found what I came here for._

Trunks grits his teeth as the boy retreats, not even giving a thank you.

"Why you little—" he growls, moving to go after him. Goten grabs him by the collar and stops him. "What the? Goten?"

"Leave him alone, Trunks-kun." He says calmly. "Besides, you're little detour has made me even later. Let's just go." Trunks looks towards the retreating boy one more time before sighing, giving into his friend's request.

"…Fine. Let's go."

As the two turn to walk home, Trunks is too caught up in his own thoughts to notice as Goten continually turns his glance back to where the other boy exited.

_Didn't you feel it too, Trunks-kun? That guy…_he shakes his head, a nervous grin spreading across his face. _I think I just found the danger I was looking for._

-END OF CHAPTER 1-


	3. Chapter 2

Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Chapter 2

"New Student at West Capitol High School! Who is Kanba?"

Notes-

Alright, notes on Chapter 2. Well, originally, Chapter 2 was REALLY short-couldn't have been more than 3 pages in length. Additionally, there was a lot of unnecessary content that isn't crucial to the story. So, in effect, I am removing content from an ALREADY short chapter. What to do? Well, Chapter 3 had a lot of the same unnecessary content to be removed as well. Ultimately this new Chapter 2 of IGNO Revisited (as I am currently calling it ;; ) is a splice between Chapter 2 and 3 of the ORIGINAL IGNO. This is actually a good thing for me, as the "introduction" arc which I originally had to cram together to fit the first 10 chapters can now have an entire additional chapter of character and plot building. So, if that who thing made SENSE to anyone, I now present you with Chapter 2 of IGNO Revisited.

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman, 2/6/06

In less than a decade, the crime rates of Satan City had risen exponentially-ironic as the city was named for the people's supposed "champion". Gangs and drug dealers perused the seedy back alleys, transforming a once prosperous city into a place where the average passer-by would fear to tread. For a time, the people placed their hopes in the once valiant hero who fought the thugs that tried to push around the common man-the Great Saiyaman. However, it was unknown to the masses that the Great Saiyaman was no more than mild-mannered high school student Son Gohan, using his amazing prowess and sense of justice to protect the peace. But, in the course of ten years, Gohan abandoned his call of duty, setting aside his life of fighting crime in favor of that of a studious collegiate. Such is the lot of a super hero, one could think, but for someone like Gohan to ignore not only his sense of justice but the call of his Saiyajin blood and the desire to battle…as difficult as it was to believe, it was true.

Without the beloved Great Saiyaman around, little by little the criminals who once cowered in fear began to crawl free from the woodwork. And, in a matter of only ten years, Satan City had returned to the nightmarish slum it had been before his existence-a breeding ground for crime and all-things immoral. Even the high school children began being corrupted by life in this city, becoming street fighting thugs. Fearing to let their beloved children set foot in this city, parents began transferring their students from the once well-respected Orange Star High School to the newly-opened edifice in the further away but more trustworthy city of West Capitol.

Seeing a prime opportunity to make money off the situation, the school operatives of West Capitol decided to instate a fee, requiring all students attending the school to pay a hefty price. Thus, delinquents were pretty much ruled out and only wealthy parents with exceptional children were able to send their students to the estate of higher learning…for the most part, at least. Of course, there were a few exceptions, and even in West Capitol those students who liked to fight were often lumped in with the Orange Star thugs. One thing did set them apart, however-the thugs of West Capitol were MUCH tougher.

Not surprisingly, two of the most prominent "thugs" of West Capitol high were none other than Goten and Trunks. Trunks, of course, got accepted to the school with little difficulty, between his parent's wealth and his vast intellect, inherited from his genius of a mother. Still, in spite of his being one of the smart and rich boys, Trunks didn't consider himself anything like the other students and preferred to hang around with those closer to his "own kind"-the delinquent thugs. How Goten got into the school was slightly different. Goten was not a bright boy, and he came from a lower-class family in the country. Still, one good word from his brother, who had become a well-known professor in the time since West Capitol became a prestigious school, and Goten was accepted without a second thought. Needless to say, Goten as well chose to associate himself with those more among his "own kind". But Goten and Trunks weren't the only badasses of West Capitol. In fact, one of the strongest among all the thugs of the school was near equal to their strength-or, to be more accurate, the extent of their strength that they could actually use when blending into human society. Even more surprisingly, however, was the fact that she was a female.

"Ah, I knew I'd find you up here", says Trunks, closing the heavy door behind him and stepping out onto the roof of the school. Goten turns around, glancing at the other boy before turning his gaze back out to the clouds.

"Oh, hey Trunks-kun."

"What's with you today?" he asks, walking closer to his friend and leaning over the grate overlooking the city below. "You seem even more out of it than usual."

"Yeah…sorry about that. It's really nothing you need to worry about." He says, never tearing his eyes from the drifting clouds.

"Goten." He says cortly. "If something is bothering you this much then of COURSE it's something for me to worry about." Goten looks up in a bit of surprise as the lavender-haired boy brings his arm to rest around his friend's shoulder. "So tell me. What's going on?"

"…'Niichan." Is all the dark-haired boy can manage. Still, in one word, Trunks knows exactly what is meant.

"…I'm sorry." He says softly, unable to think of anything more elaborate to say. Goten stands up, straightening the collar of his black blazer-the standard-issue uniform of West Capitol High. Not even bothering to make eye contact with the other boy, he makes his way to the door. "There's nothing for you to be sorry for."

Trunks looks on in dismay as the door leading back into the school opens and Goten disappears through it. The door is closed with a soft sound as a cold wind blows by, ruffling through the solitary boy's lilac-colored hair. Stoic and silent, keeping his true thoughts and feelings locked inside…

"That's not like you, Goten."

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"Oh come off it already!" comes a shout from inside the building. There, in the uppermost floor's hallway, stands a girl with three or so boys at her side. "I already owned up to it, what the Hell else do you want from me?" she cries, signaling to the boys-who appear to be her lackeys-to step back. The man before her, dressed in a starched and pressed suit, appears to be some sort of professor or authority figure in the school. However, by the way she talks to him; it is clear whoever this girl is she has very little respect for authority.

"Now calm down, Miss Mizuumi—" he attempts, only to be cut off by the girl's curt response.

"No way in Hell!" she barks. "Those Orange Star punks were on our turf!"

"I understand that, Miss Mizuumi, but this isn't a fighting ground! It's an estate of higher learning!"

"And why do you think that IS!" she replies. "Because all of our parents are keeping you bastards RICH by SENDING us here! Because Orange Star became such a bad school! You really want guys like that coming here and messing THIS place up!"

"W-well, no, but I—"

"EXACTLY!" she calls back. "Look, I'm not trying to start trouble, Sugumura-Sensei. I'm just trying to keep this place clean of thugs like that so we can better our OWN learning!"

"That sounds a bit farfetched coming from you, Miss Mizuumi."

"Heh. Why don't you head down to the records department and say that again." She says smugly. "My record at this school is spotless. I've never gotten recognized as to causing any disturbances in this school, have I? And my grades are top-notch. You don't have NEARLY enough on me to accuse me of something like that." He cringes, realizing the girl is absolutely right.

"…fine. You win this time, Miss Mizuumi. I guess I'll just have to take your word for it." He bows to her, politely exiting. "Good day."

As the man walks away, she grins devilishly before flipping him off to his back. She looks at her lackeys briefly as they smile, albeit shaking a bit nervously from the display. They know as well as the other students of West Capitol that crossing Mizuumi Kori is a bad idea. It's no surprise, then, that Goten had to take a cautious step back as he walked through the door from the roof back into the main building.

"Oh! K-K-K-Kori-chan!" he says, slightly taken aback. "W-w-what are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be in History class now?"

"Heh, I could say the same for you, Goten-kun." She says, the pretty smile gracing her face begetting the malice she had shown only moments earlier. She nods to her lackeys, who take it as a sign that they should take their leave. They head down the hallway, leaving only Kori and Goten to talk. She turns back to him, continuing her previous statement. "We're in the same class, remember?"

"Oh, r-r-right…" he says, blushing with embarrassment. "I…forgot." She grins, moving behind the dark-haired boy and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Really? Forgot, or skipped out to avoid me?"

"Uh, hehehehe…maybe a little of both…" he mutters, his honesty getting the better of him. She laughs and pats him on the back.

"Aw, that's alright!" she says sweetly. "My problem isn't with you anyway, Goten-kun. It's with that…" she cringes slightly before finishing her sentence. "…friend of yours."

"Oh, you mean Trunks-kun, don't you?"

"Yeah…" she snarls. "So is the bastard here today, or what? He may be a bastard but he doesn't seem like the type to skip…"

"Uh, he's, uh…" Goten panics, trying desperately to come up with an excuse to save his best friend's hide. "He's—"

"I'm right here, Kori." Comes the response. Goten and Kori both spin around in surprise as the lavender-haired boy stands a ways down the hall, leaning casually up against the wall. "Thanks Goten, but there's no reason to cover for me." He grins evilly. "If the bitch has some business with me, I've got some time right now."

"Heh, well speak of the devil." Kori says slyly, removing her hand from Goten's shoulder and pacing the corridor. "You've got guts showing your face here, after last time. Unless it's a rematch you're looking for."

"Che!" he grits out, spitting on the floor. "How many times have I told you? I don't fight girls, 'specially not weak ones like you." He grins.

"Weak? That's big talk coming from someone this 'weak girl' beat to a bloody pulp the last time we fought."

"Will you quit bringing that up! Alright already, I lost OK? I'll be a man about it and admit to that! You got the best of me, are you happy? Is that what you wanted me to say?" he bellows, clenching his fists as if in preparation for another fight right there in the hallway. "Christ…I shouldn't have to take crap like that from someone like you...Or are you forgetting that I came in third in the Tenka'Ichi Budoukai a few months ago?"

"Yeah, but third is still third, Trunks-kun." Says Goten, finally speaking up. "You still lost against Buu-san."

"What! At least I didn't lose to a four-year old girl!" Trunks throws back. Goten sinks, deciding to stay out of the rest of the dispute.

"Heh, anyway. A loss is a loss, pretty-boy, and you lost against me. But…" she trails off, moving to stand behind Trunks now. He watches her cautiously, knowing that even someone of his caliber could be taken if he let his guard down around Kori. "If you'd like me to prove that to you again, why don't we have a go right now?"

"Gah, I already TOLD you, Kori! I don't—" the second he spins around to face her, however, is the second Kori chooses to make her move.

In a flash, a hand grips Trunks' face, pushing it back and slamming body against the wall. Goten watches in amazement as the cement cracks slightly. Truly, Kori is not an opponent to be taken lightly, and with the inability to use their true powers in front of average humans, even warriors like Goten and Trunks can get hurt.

"Trunks-kun!" Goten cries, running over to his friend. His aid, however, is not necessary as Trunks grabs the girl's other arm with his left hand, pushing back against the wall with his right and tossing her aside, freeing himself from her grasp.

Kori skillfully manages to block a volley of punches thrown by the lavender-haired boy, bending at just the right moment to grab his leg as he attempts a sweep. With her other hand Kori embeds a fist into Trunks' gut, causing the boy to lurch forward a bit. Even as the pain hits him, though, Trunks can't help but be astounded that this average human girl could actually hurt him. He smiles, preparing to counter with his own punch, only to have his fist stopped by Kori's free hand. With his other leg bound by Kori's foot, Trunks needs time to contemplate his escape without engaging his true powers at the risk of seriously injuring the girl. However, he isn't awarded the luxury of such time before the girl tightens her grip, preparing to toss the boy straight into the opposing wall.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" calls a deep female voice, causing all three to freeze in their tracks. Marching down the corridor, arms folded across her chest, comes a large woman. Her red hair is pulled back in a bun and, between that and her horn rim glasses, she looks to be the stereotypical older female teacher.

"Ah! Otokorashi-Sensei!" cry Trunks and Kori simultaneously, suddenly aware that they are still locked in the grip of their tussle.

"Ahem!" she coughs loudly. "What do you two think you're doing! This isn't Orange Star High School, I'll have you know! This is a respectable school, and you two are privileged to attend! Now I'll have you BEHAVE like good children and ACT as such!"

Quickly releasing one another, Trunks and Kori step back, bowing to the somewhat-threatening mannish teacher. Taking the distraction as his own chance to exit, Goten sneakily tries to tiptoe away.

"That goes for you as well, Son Goten!" she bellows, freezing Goten in his tracks. He slips back into the scene, standing beside Trunks and bowing as well. "Just because you weren't participating in this fight does not make you exempt from punishment! You are an accessory to your friend's bad behavior!"

"Yes, ma'am…" he says softly. She 'hmphs' to herself before turning to lecture each individual, wagging a long finger in each of their faces.

"Trunks, your mother is one of the most respected individuals in the nation…nay, the entire WORLD! This kind of behavior from someone as privileged as you is simply unacceptable!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am…" he whimpers. Kori chuckles softly at the sight of the tough-acting boy bowing and scraping to a teacher.

"And you, Kori!" she says to the girl, striking her to stand at attention. "You are a member of the prestigious Mizuumi family, one of the wealthiest families on the globe! How do you think it would make them look to tarnish your spotless school record by engaging in mindless roughhousing?"

"Not well, ma'am…" she mutters. "I apologize for my reckless behavior." Otokorashi nods, smiling at her success in getting them to straighten up.

"That's good. Very good, all of you. I trust we all have an understanding now?"

"Yes, ma'am…" they all spout at once. "No fighting in school."

"Mm, good. Now get to class! Where are you all supposed to be now?"

"Mr. Jusotsu's second-period History class, ma'am," comes the reply from Trunks. "We're all in the same class."

"Well, good. Run along now." They all nod in compliance, running down the hallway. "Oh, and just to be aware, I'll be CALLING Mr. Jusotsu to inform him you are on the way, so don't think of skipping out again!" All three sink, the teacher having read their minds.

"Well then, I guess we're going to class…" Trunks sighs. Goten and Kori nod solemnly.

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"Well, now!" Mr. Jusotsu manages sarcastically as the trouble-making trio makes their way through the door to his class. "If it isn't Kori, Trunks and Son Goten! How nice of you to join us!"

"Yeah. Great to be here." Trunks counters with an equal amount of sarcasm.

"So, will you all be taking your seats and staying with us today? God forbid we LEARN anything for a change, hm?"

"Yeah yeah, we've got it…" Kori mumbles as they all head to their desks.

"Well, now that THAT little disturbance is out of the way…" Jusotsu trails off as he moves back behind his desk. "I'm pleased to announce we have a new student joining us today, class. He's apparently just transferred here from…wow, some place other than Orange Star! Well, looks like we'll actually have someone promising among this group of delinquents!" he says, shock tinting his voice. "Well, students, please welcome to the classroom Kyuu Kanba!"

At that moment, Jusotsu gestures towards the doorway, ushering in the new student. Through the door steps a tall boy with long dark hair parted neatly over a headband tied around his forehead. Although it is difficult to make out, the headband appears to have something written on it…obscured by the collar of his blazer is a thick gold chain around his neck. He steps inside, smiling warmly and politely bowing to the class.

"Nice to meet you." He says in a calm, low-key voice. He rises, his eyes meeting those of everyone in the classroom. "My name is Kanba, and I look forward to getting to know you all."

Just then, for a single instant, his eyes seem to fall on one student in particular. In that one instant they seem to pierce into the very mind of said student; studying his every thought and emotion in a single glance before turning away, hiding any further suspicion behind that warm smile. Goten's eyes snap open and he springs up in his seat, beads of sweat rolling down his face as he tries to make sense of the feeling washing over him.

_What the Hell! Did he just…_Goten thinks, a chill of terror running down his spine. _Did he just read my mind!_

"Goten, what's wrong?" Trunks whispers from his seat in the row next to Goten's.

"N-nothing." He stammers, trying to hide the horror spreading slowly across his face.

_Didn't you feel it, Trunks-kun?_ He thinks, looking wide-eyed at the seemingly friendly boy at the front of the class. _Right now, for just a second, I could have sworn his Ki felt…_he shakes his head rapidly, desperately trying to shake the dread setting into his mind.

"Go ahead and find yourself a seat, Kanba-kun." Beckons Jusotsu, motioning for the boy to sit down.

"Of course." He says softly, bowing once again.

Making his way to the back of the classroom, the boy takes his seat at the only empty desk in the classroom-the one directly across from Goten's. He smiles kindly at Goten before turning his gaze to the front of the class, listening intently as Jusotsu begins his lecture. Still unable to tear his eyes from the mysterious boy, Goten shakes, the pencil dropping involuntarily from his quivering hand. Sweat continues to drip off his brow and he tosses another look to the lavender-haired boy, amazed that he doesn't seem to sense the same feeling instilling itself within his own brain.

_This…this is definitely not good. I could have sworn that just for that split second he was looking right into my mind…and the feeling I got from his Ki when he did…_Goten glowers, his eyebrows narrowing. _It felt Saiyajin…_

-END OF CHAPTER 2-


	4. Chapter 3

Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Chapter 3

"Secrets Upon Secrets! Goten's Suspicions Are Tested"

Notes-

As I mentioned for Chapter 2 Revisited, the original chapters 2 and 3 were both…well, notoriously short. Thusly I combined much of the material from the original chapters 2 and 3 to create the NEW Chapter 2…leaving me even LESS to work with for the new Chapter 3 which I am just about to start writing as soon as I finish this notes section. So, what else can I do but than to once AGAIN borrow material from another and transfer it here? That's right; the new Chapter 3 Revisited will be a splice between the original chapter 3 and FOUR…only in this case it works in favor since the original chapter 4 was a bit excessively LONG. And, of course, as this is a revision, I AM SG2, and I do NOT know the difference between the words "revision" and "rewrite"…there will be somewhat new material as well. A…decent amount…of somewhat new information…Hey, it's my story, and if I want to change stuff I am perfectly entitled to! So to you original IGNO fans out there, sorry if there's some stuff that's entirely new to you…All I can say is "my bad". face faults Well in either case…here's Chapter 3 of IGNO Revisited.

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman, 2/14/06

_There's just…no way…_

The inside of the classroom is silent as all eyes are on the mysterious new student. Simply identifying himself as Kyuu Kanba, not much else is known of the boy than what can be directly seen. He is very tall, both in his legs as well as his uncommonly slim-looking upper body. A tender smile graces his face as he sits politely at his desk, well aware that he has quickly shifted into the center of attention but remaining none the less humble about it. His voice is calm and soothing, and even his manner of speaking is polished and respectful. His long dark hair spills across his shoulders, but even between that and the neatly-buttoned collar of his school uniform it is still somewhat visible-a glinting golden chain around his neck. Goten would have probably noticed it on any other occasion; noticed that this particular chain, this particular boy seemed somehow familiar, as if they had met some time before…he would have probably noticed had he not been so distracted by another aspect of his enigmatic new classmate. One very menacing aspect that struck such heart-stopping absolute blood-curdling terror into the dark-haired boy that he found himself struggling just to breathe; to force his brain to transmit the air to and from his lungs…

_His Ki…it felt…Saiyajin!_

"So, Kanba-han." Trunks says coolly, leaning over his desk to face the new student. Goten continues to eye the seemingly-polite boy, wiping sweat from his forehead as he considers what he is imagining.

_But…it's impossible…the only Saiyajin left should be me, Trunks-kun…Trunks-kun's dad…my dad…'Niichan…and little Pan-chan and Bra-chan! Other than that…_

Trunks shifts in his seat, resting his head against his hand, elbow propped up on the small desk.

"So, you're new to this entire area, ne?" Goten shakes his head forcefully, zeroing-in on the nearby conversation being headlined by his best friend. "I mean, not just West Capitol or this general area…but you're from out of even the CONTINENT?" Kanba seems a bit taken aback by the question, but hides it well and is quick to produce an answer.

"Y-yes, that's right. I've just recently taken up residence here, so I'm a bit unfamiliar with the area…" he trails off slightly, but even with such a vague answer manages to avoid arousing any suspicion from Trunks or the other classmates. Still, it strikes Goten odd as he considers the facts. Outside the continent and a few scattered islands off the various coasts, the rest of the world was virtually all wild and untamed jungle.

_Come on, Goten, think about this. For just a minute forget the fact that you think you felt something Saiyajin…For someone so polite and well-mannered to just suddenly show up and claim that's he's new not only to the CITY but to the entire MAINLAND…_he thinks to himself. _…something definitely doesn't add up here. We almost never get a transfer student from anywhere but Orange Star in Satan City…and when, on rare occasion, we DO, it's usually some back-woods hick from rural areas even further from the city than where I live. And yet, this guy…_

Goten shifts in position slightly, never taking his eyes from the ongoing conversation between the new boy and the mob of students crowding around him.

…_He's able to just show up here and make such a faulty claim, and no one even thinks to QUESTION his claims! With the tight policy of the school to keep this place as spotless as possible, there's no way they would just admit a new student on a whim like that…not without checking and double checking his background records time and time over…No, something's definitely not right about this guy. Besides the fact that I SWEAR he looked right through me…right into my mind…As if he was focusing on me specifically; singling me out from everyone else in the class…_

"Well, since you're new to the area and all, what do you say to me and Goten showing you around town after school?" Trunks goes on. The mention of his name snaps Goten out of his thoughts and he turns his full focus back towards his friend.

"S-s-s-say what, now!" he stammers, piecing together what Trunks just said in his scattered brain. "What if you and WHO, now? What if Goten decides to speak for HIMSELF?"

"Aw come on now, Goten, you know I didn't mean it like that." Trunks responds. "I just figured since you and me would probably be hanging out together after school ANYWAYS…why not show the new guy around? You know, courtesy and whatnot?" Kanba smiles, speaking up slightly.

"That's awfully nice of you, but I don't want to be a bother…"

"No no, it's no trouble at all, really!" Trunks says, turning back to Goten with a false-grin. "RIGHT, Goten?" At the utterance of Goten's name, Trunks proceeds to punch the other boy in the arm…apparently with more force than perhaps intended.

"OW!" he gasps out, grasping his arm with his other hand. "Trunks-kun, what the Hell!"

"I SAID, RIGHT, Goten?"

"Right WHAT!"

"That we'd be MORE than happy to show Kanba around town after school…RIGHT!" for each emphasized word, Trunks stomps on Goten's foot under the desk, trying to introduce his dim-witted friend to his point.

"Oh, that…fine, sure, whatever…geez…" he grumbles. Kanba looks at the pair curiously. Goten takes note of this and quickly tries to change the subject.

"Uh, sorry about that, Kanba-kun, that was…uh…" he nervously turns to face Trunks, glaring slightly. "Uh, Trunks-kun, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Hn?"

"Over HERE?" he continues, grabbing Trunks' arm and dragging him to the other corner of the room.

"Goten, what the Hell's gotten into you?"

"ME! What's the deal with YOU inviting that guy to hang out with us after school!"

"What? I was just trying to be nice, Goten! The kid's new around here. I'm just trying to toss the guy a break."

"That's just the THING, Trunks-kun! I figured you of all people would have picked up on it FIRST!"

"Picked up on what?" the lavender-haired boy asks curiously. "What are you talking about?" Goten looks over the other boy's shoulder for a split second, trying to make sure that Kanba isn't paying any attention to either of them. Determining it safe to speak, he pulls Trunks closer, whispering his next words.

"This guy…he says he's new to the AREA, right? Not just to the city."

"…Yeah…"

"Right. He says it like he's new not just to the city, not just to West Capitol, but to the entire mainland as a whole…and he doesn't make it sound as if he's from any of the islands, either." This time it's Trunks who tosses a casual glance back towards the mysterious new student.

"…What are you getting at?"

"Think about it, Trunks-kun! What is there besides the mainland and the islands? Nothing but jungle! Miles upon miles of jungle, virtually uninhabited aside from a couple hundred tigers and dinosaurs!"

"…" Goten sighs in slight aggravation, his point somehow passing his friend by.

"I can't believe that I'M the one noticing these things before you! Doesn't his story seem a little suspicious to you? I mean, it just doesn't add up! There's no way a guy like that, all polite and civilized and whatnot, could have come from anywhere but the mainland, or—" he pauses, considering his next move as Trunks continues to watch him cautiously.

_I can't tell Trunks-kun what I felt…not just yet. If it was anything serious, he would have sensed it too, and besides…_he glances over at Kanba once again, carefully. _…No, I want to watch him a little more before I worry Trunks-kun about anything…_

"Or what, Goten?" the older boy breaks in, derailing Goten's train of thought.

"…n…nothing." He mutters softly. "My point is I just don't trust this guy. I just…he just seems like he's not being completely honest with us…you know?"

"You think he's LYING?" Trunks half-barks. "Why would he do that? What would that accomplish? I mean, no matter how you look at it, he's still a new student here…he's just meeting us all for the first time and trying to adjust and make friends and get used to the school! OK, so maybe some of the stuff he says is a bit far-fetched, and maybe he IS lying…a little…but I'm sure whatever it is, it's for a good reason! I mean, LOOK at the guy!" he points back over to Kanba, laughing and chatting with the other students. "Now does he look like someone bad to you? Someone who would just lie for no reason?"

"…No…b-but, I—"

"Then stop WORRYING about it!" He nudges the smaller boy, urging him to head back to his seat. "Now come on, let's get back over there and introduce ourselves PROPERLY, alright?"

"…fine."

As Goten and Trunks return to their desks, the other students quickly dissipate. And, as the teacher, Mr. Jusotsu, takes his place before the blackboard, the seconds-ago bustling classroom turns back to the attentative atmosphere that it was in before the introduction of the new student. But even as the lesson begins, Goten finds it difficult to pay attention…even more difficult than usual, that is. His attention remains focused on the long-haired boy seated only a desk away from his own, unable to swallow the idea that his suspicions may be wrong. Never having been the type to go against instincts, Goten is unable to push past his initial beliefs…and something within him still doesn't sit right when concerning the new boy.

_You're wrong, Trunks-kun…_he considers, the idea racing through his head time and time over. _You're wrong…_

The rest of the class proceeds in much the same fashion; Goten going over his same theories again and again in his head, gnawing on the end of his pencil. So caught up in his own thoughts and suspicions, however, Goten doesn't take notice of Kanba sparing a glance at him. A single glance harrowing dread, malice, and yet an odd sense of hope all at once…a glance that pierces straight through Goten's outer being without him even being aware. Kanba's eyes narrow.

_Son…Goten…_

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"Hey, little bro!"  
Goten arrives home from school, greeted by the cheerful voice of his older brother. He can only cringe in initial reaction, not the most pleased with his brother these days. He knew in his heart it wasn't right to feel such things; such things he could only note as slightly less than "hatred" for his older brother…but he couldn't help it.

"…What is it, 'Niichan?" comes the diluted reply.

"What, a guy can't say hello to his brother without getting the third degree? Sheesh!" Goten rolls his eyes, walking over to the door of his house. He pauses, turning to face Gohan unenthusiastically.

"Look, is there somethin' in particular you WANT, 'Niichan? Cuz I've got homework to do. YOU of all people should appreciate THAT, right?"

"Oh come on, don't be that way!" Gohan says back, moving to stand behind his brother and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I feel like we never hang out anymore! Besides, if you need me to, I'll even help you with your homework later…"

"…I already have plans to go out with Trunks-kun later…"

"Aw come on, you can hang out with Trunks any day of the week. And you DO! So what do you say? Videl's gonna be gone all week, vacationing at her father's summer house…And Pan-chan is going over to Capsule Corp. later tonight to sleep over with Trunks' little sister…So come on, little bro! What about you and me go grab a bite to eat over at Royal Burger or something?" Goten is silent for a moment, considering his brother's proposition.

_Well, he seems like he sincerely wants to spend time with me…_Goten ponders._ And I guess it's not his fault he's always busy with his family…I mean, the first free time he's gotten in a long time and he comes right to me…I guess…I'll see Trunks-kun tomorrow anyway…_He smiles faintly, turning to his brother and nodding slightly.

"Sure, let's go."

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"So, what have you been up to lately?" Gohan asks, picking at his french fries. Goten looks up from his burger, swallowing before deigning to answer.

"Oh, me? Not much, really. Mostly school. And trainin' too, I guess." He shrugs and takes another bite. "How 'bout you?"

"Oh, you know, same old same old. I've been very busy lately. Oh, but have I told you yet I've been offered a job?"

"Uh-uh. What is it?" Goten tries his hardest to sound interested in his brother's quite frankly uninteresting life. It comes off at least somewhat believable, however, as he is at least happy to be spending some time with his former mentor.

"It's a professing job! I'll be teaching fourth year mathematics...advanced calculus, actually…over at West Capitol High!"

As soon as the words 'West Capitol High' spill out, so does Goten's milkshake spill forth from his mouth, so shocked by the prospect that his nerdy older brother could one day become his teacher.

"M-m-m-m-my high school!" he exclaims. Gohan chuckles.

"Heh, that's right little bro! I could even end up having you or Trunks in my class! How cool would that be?"

"Hehehehe, yeah, cool…" he laughs nervously.

_Good thing I'm no way near smart enough to get into advanced calc…heh, too bad for Trunks-kun, though, he's got that next semester… that could be interesting…_

"Heh, anyway…" Gohan says, a tinge of embarrassment in his words. "So, training, huh? Man, those were the days, weren't they?" Goten freezes, his blood turning to ice.

"…Yeah. Well, you know, 'Niichan…" he goes on softly. "…No one ever said that you had to stop training, either…I mean, sometimes…I guess I'd like to have someone other 'n Trunks-kun to spar against…you know? It'd be great if you could…start doin' it again…"

"Oh come on, Goten, of course I had to stop!" Gohan says somberly. "What with my family and my career…I mean, come on! I actually have a REAL life now! I don't have time for silly martial a—"

He doesn't even have time to finish his sentence before Goten slams his fists down on the table, knocking a couple of french fries onto the floor. Gohan sits back a ways, well aware now that he has said something he perhaps shouldn't have as Goten's eyes harden into a demonic glare.

"'Silly…martial arts'?" he nearly growls out. "SILLY! You mean to tell me that all of a sudden, you think that the thing that I've devoted my life to…that our father devoted his life to…to the thing that YOU used to EXCEL at…is just SILLY MARTIAL ARTS!"

"N-n-n-n-now Goten, you know that's not what I—"

"Oh, no no. I'm sorry, that's NOT what you meant, is it?" Goten barks. "No, you just meant that what you have NOW is more important, is that it! That pissin' your life away with your NOSE buried in some lame TEXTBOOK is more important, right? So much more important that you'd ignore Father's fondest wishes! Didn't you ever notice how much it BROKE him, 'Niichan! To see you neglect your trainin' so much that you would lose in a simple sparrin' match against even ME! What the Hell HAPPENED to you!"

"I…I just…" he trails off. "I guess I…"

"See! You don't even frickin' know yourself. You got so caught up in your new little 'LIFE' as you call it that you don't even remember what you used to be…" he spits. "Che! You, 'Niichan…"

Gohan's eyes widen as his brother rises from the table, moving so that he is eye-to-eye with the older boy. His heart practically stops beating as his younger brother, whom he had believed always looked up to him, gives him a glare so cold he would imagine impossible from the always happy and exuberant boy.

"You sicken me." Growling through clenched teeth, Goten tosses money on the table. "Here, is this enough Zeni to cover what I had?" he says as he moves towards the door.

"Wait, Goten, where are you—"

"Anywhere but here. Later."

"But I—"

"I said 'later', GOHAN!"

The glass door chimes as Goten steps through it and disappears out. Ignoring the other staring Royal Burger patrons, Gohan can only stare, in complete shock, at his brother's retreating form. Never in his seventeen years of life had Goten ever treated his brother with anything but the utmost respect.

"He…called me Gohan…and not…'Niichan…"

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"Jisan!" calls a small voice. By the time Goten finally returns home, it is already getting dark. Pan, bags packed and ready for her sleepover with Bra at Capsule Corp., runs up to her uncle excitedly. He turns and smiles, the girl's cheerful nature brightening his cloudy mood. "Goten-Jisan!"

"Oh, hey Pan-chan." He kneels down, scooping up the little girl as she runs to him. "Ooh, check out all the suitcases! What are you all packed up for, eh?"

"Hee hee! I'm having a sleepover with Bra-kun!"

"Oh, really?" Goten smiles, in slight remembrance of all his sleepovers at Capsule Corp. with Trunks when he was a little boy. "Well, you're gonna have a blast! There's no better place to sleep over than Bulma-san's house!"

"Really?" she asks enthusiastically. Goten nods.

"Un! You bet! Hehehehe!" he pats her on the back before standing again, reaching out for the doorknob to his house. Before he can turn it, however, a small hand tugs on his pantleg. He looks down at Pan, a sad look on her face-very unusual for the normally bright and cheerful girl.

"N? What's wrong, Pan-chan?"

"Goten-Jisan…" she says somberly. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure!" he says, once again kneeling to meet the small girl. "Anything, Pan-chan, what is it?"

"Well…" she trails off. "I was just wondering if…well…could you train me?"

"N?" Goten remarks, taken aback by the request.

"Well, it's just that…" she goes on. "Ever since 'Jiichan left…Well…I really don't know how to train myself, and daddy..." Goten cringes, knowing full-well before the girl can even finish her sentence. Surely Pan had asked her father to train her before…but, just as with him, such a request was impossible. He wraps his arms tightly around the small girl, hugging his young niece close to him.

"…Sure, Pan-chan. I'd be happy to train with you. I know you don't want to let your grandpa down…" he turns his gaze skyward. "…And neither do I."

"Thanks, Goten-Jisan!" he says happily. He smiles and releases her, picking up one of her small suitcases.

"Well, we can work out the details some other time. Right now you'd better get going to Bra-chan's house for your sleepover!" he grins. "You don't want to be late, do you? Otherwise you may not get any of Vege…er, I mean, Bulma-san's famous homemade cookies!"

"Hehehe! Alright then! See ya later, Goten-Jisan!"

She smiles at him and waves, grabbing her suitcases before taking off to the sky. Goten looks after her as she vanishes in the direction of Capsule Corp., bringing his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the setting sun. He sighs, entering his house and heading straight up to his room.

Later, as he sits at his desk and works on his homework, Goten goes over the days preceding events in his head. He gnaws on his pencil, his thoughts racing around and making it impossible to concentrate on math problems. Math problems…he snickers inwardly, recalling Gohan's proposal of becoming a teacher at his school. Choosing study over the wishes of his own father…his own brother and daughter…

"Looks like I'm not the only one you've let down after all, 'Niichan."

-END OF CHAPTER 3-


	5. Chapter 4

Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Chapter 4

"Surprise in the Darkness! Goten is Attacked"

Notes-

OK. Well, as I have covered in previous notes sections, the original IGNO had varying chapter lengths. So, whereas the original chapters 2 and 3 were incredibly short, the original chapter 4 more than made up for that by being WAY too long. However, although it would be easy to cut material and make the Revisited chapter 4 a suitable length…all the content of the original chapter 4 was incredibly important to the story and the direction the series is going in to this point, even moreso after the way I left Revisited chapter 3. So I can't bring myself to just "cut" a lot of this stuff…I have to retain all the relevant material but somehow minimize it all…and that ain't gonna be easy. sigh What we have to look forward to in this chapter, though, is the first real fight of IGNO-chapters 1-3 were really just story building. And just a side note, I did NOT misspell KameHame Ha as KameKame Ha…if you don't realize that, you're an idiot. Anyways, onto IGNO 4 Revisited. Ya like Dragonball? Ya like fighting? Then this is what you really came for, isn't it? So let's get started.

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman, 3/4/06

Heavy darkness envelops the night sky. All is silent as shadows drench the darkened landscape…a shadowy figure speeds through the trees, quick as the shadows themselves. Engulfed in shadow, nothing is visible of this strange entity aside from the glisten of the moon bouncing of a golden chain…he pauses for a moment, leaping into a tree and surveying the surrounding area. He smiles to himself sinisterly as the Son House comes into view…

Deep in the wild forest, in a house far away from the bustling city, a young boy lies in bed, tossing and turning. This boy, who is supposed to be one of the strongest fighters on the blue planet Earth, the fate of said planet on his proverbial shoulders, is belayed by nightmares. Cast into his loneliness, here in his bed is the only place he is prey to his vulnerability…and so he tosses and turns, unable to fight against such an opponent, and can only be caught up in the turbulence of his own fears and memories.

_The two little boys huddle closer to one another, clutching the pantleg of the tall green-skinned alien beside them. Standing on a cliff, they face the opposition bravely despite being totally outmatched as the terrifying brutal beast known only as Majin Buu reforms, seemingly impervious to all manner of attacks._

"P…Piccolo-san!"_ the small dark-haired boy whimpers, hiding fearfully behind the Namekseijin warrior._

"Damn!"_ he curses. _"The fusion broke!"

"What do we do now, Trunks-kun?" _the smaller boy asks in a small voice, tapping his friend on the shoulder. The lavender-haired boy turns to him, a look of uncertainty on his small face._

"I don't know…" _he mutters. _"But…but we've still got Piccolo-san!" _he exclaims, the excitement quickly erasing any fear he had only moments ago. Goten clenches a fist confidently, smiling up at Piccolo._

"Yeah!" _yells Goten. _"Piccolo-san can help us! He can do anything! Can'tcha, Piccolo-san?"

_Piccolo's face is sheened with sweat, knowing the painful truth of their situation. Despite the excitement of the boys, he realizes their last hope has been shattered. Gotenks is gone, and Buu remains unscathed. With Gokou and Vegeta dead, and Gohan nowhere to be found, even the seasoned warrior realizes he is no match for Buu…_

"…No…I'm afraid the fusion was…our last hope…" _he trails off, the exuberance of the young boys dissolving upon utterance of the words. _"We're…out of luck."  
"Hey, what happened to that guy I was just fighting?" _the pink monster asks, cracking his neck in anticipation to continue the battle. _"He must have run away. Shoot…Oh well."

_Piccolo wordlessly signals to the boys and all three simultaneously adopt a fighting stance. He looks to young Goten, then to Trunks. Both boys nod to him silently, but nonetheless understanding the plan._

Good…_Piccolo thinks to himself. _The odds may be stacked against us, but we'll go down fighting.

"Uuugh…" _the monster moans, clutching his stomach. _"All that fighting made me HUUUUUNGRYYY…" _The eyes of the opposing warriors widen in terror as the beast grins ferally, the appendage on his head rising. _

Crap, he's planning on using that again…_Piccolo thinks. _The sick bastard…he's going to turn us into food and eat us…

"SNACK TIME!" _he screams maniacally, leaping forward at the remaining Z Senshi. However, just as he is prepared to fire the devastating Henka Beam, he is knocked back by some unseen force…Goten and Trunks look on in confusion as to what has just occurred, but Piccolo's eyes widen optimistically. He smiles._

That energy…it's unmistakable…_sweat rolls down his face, even as he continues to smile curiously. _But…so much…when did you become so strong…Gohan?

_Sure enough, standing tall and proud, garbed in an orange and blue martial arts Dogi identical to his late father's, is none other than Son Gohan. The warriors cannot believe their eyes at the sight of not only someone whom they had all believed to be dead, but…with such power, was this boy before them really the same Gohan?_

"Looks like I made it just in time, eh, Piccolo-san?" _he says snidely, grinning at his long-time mentor. _

"Gohan…" _Piccolo trails off. _"Is that really you?"

"Heh, sure is!" _he salutes. _"Trunks, little bro…good to see you're both doing well, too."

"G…Gohan-san…" _little Trunks manages. _

"'Niichan!" _Goten exclaims. He grins, tears of joy flowing from his eyes. His brother was alive…and he was here to save them, and defeat the monster once and for all. _"You made it…'Niichan…"

"It's you!" _cries the pink terror, interrupting the happy reunion. _"I thought I killed you!"

"Well it looks like you missed that guess, monster." _Gohan grits out. _"And now that I'm back I'm here to put a stop to your evil once and for all!"

"Oh, so you want to fight again, do you? Fine, I'm game for that…" _he clutches his stomach once again, his head-tail rearing up. _"But first I think I need a little snack…"

_Gohan turns his head in shock back to the cliff where his friends and little brother stand, fearing for their safety before his own as Buu appears to make his move. However, using Gohan's momentary distraction as his chance, Buu tears a jelly-like piece off of his body, stretching it and tossing it at the spiky-haired boy._

"FOOL!" _he screams as the jiggling mass of makeshift rope wraps around Gohan's neck. Piccolo and the boys watch in horror as he gasps for air, fighting just to breathe._

"GOHAN!"

"GOHAN-SAN!"

"'NIICHAN!"

"Wahahahahahahaha! HYAAAAAH!"

_Laughing insanely, Buu stretches his other arm out to meet his tether, pulling his entire body up to meet Gohan's. Constricting the boy's arms and legs with more of the taffy-like substance, he cowardly makes certain the other cannot fight back before pummeling his face repeatedly. The others can only look on helplessly as Gohan is mercilessly beat to a bloody pulp._

"Dammit, we have to help him!" _little Trunks cries, going Super Saiyajin and preparing to charge after Gohan. Goten follows in his friend's lead, eager to help his brother, only to both be pushed back by a pair of green arms. Trunks glares up at Piccolo, angered for being stopped._

"What are you doing, Piccolo-san!"

"You boys are still exhausted from the fusion! There's nothing you can do!"

"But we have to save my brother!"

"No…", _Piccolo balks, reaching to tear off his turban and cape and powering up._

"What can you do!" _Trunks asks dryly. _"Even we couldn't win against him as Super Gotenks 3!"

"…I have to try…" _he mutters, charging out towards his young friend._

_Piccolo leaps at Buu from behind, preparing to land a punch at the back of his head. Before it can connect, however, he is backhanded by Buu, who doesn't even turn away from his captive victim. Piccolo is sent flying, crashing head-first into a cliff face. He brushes the dust from his body, clamoring to his feet and wiping blood from his lip._

"Impossible…I was in his blind spot…" _he manages before collapsing again. Buu just shrugs off the momentary disturbance and returns to his hapless prey._

"Come on Goten, we have to do something!"

"But…what can we do?"

"Follow me, I've got an idea!" _little Trunks motions for Goten to follow him, running along the rocky edges of the cliffs before stopping atop one. Cupping his palms in front of his mouth, he calls aloud._

"HEY MAJIN BUU!" _At the sound of his name Buu turns, grimacing slightly. _"YEAH, I'M TALKIN' TO YOU, UGLY!" _Trunks cries, almost laughing as the monster's face is contorted with anger for being called ugly. Without warning, the boy drops his pants, smacking his butt mockingly at the shocked monster. _"Come up here and try to kick my ass, Buu! That is if you think you CAN!"

"T…Trunks-kun, don't make him angry…" _Goten manages warningly. Infuriated, Buu releases his hold on Gohan, causing the bloodied and beaten boy to fall limply to the ground. Trunks manages to pull up his pants just as Buu lunges at him. He grabs Goten's arm and runs away as fast as he can, Buu chasing after them at top speed. _

"I told you not to make him angry, Trunks-kun!" _Goten cries at his friend._

"Idiot! Just shut up and keep running! I have an idea!" _Thinking quickly, Trunks once again turns to call aloud. _"PICCOLO-SAN! NOW!" _he screams. Gohan's eyes widen in realization of Trunks' plan to distract Buu long enough for Piccolo to recover._

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" _the Namekseijin screams from the other side of the mountain, powering up extensively. He adopts a familiar stance as thousands of energy balls take form around him, preparing to launch his renowned Kakusan Yuudo Kou Dan. One by one, he fires the energy spheres, catching the still-pursuing Buu by complete and total surprise. The boys take to the air as their enemy's attention is elsewhere, getting as far away as they possibly can to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Having no time to defend, the beast is caught in a massive explosion…_

_As the smoke clears, Goten and Trunks rush over to Piccolo as he collapses from exhaustion. Both regress to their normal forms as the tension dies down. Trunks carries the much heavier Namekseijin warrior on his shoulders as he and Goten approach the severely wounded Gohan on the ground nearby._

"'Niichan…" _Goten mutters, kneeling beside his brother. _"Piccolo-san…what do we do? He's…still bleeding…" _Piccolo is silent, half unconscious himself. Goten looks down silently, from Piccolo to his brother._

"…Trunks-kun…" _he says softly._

"…Yeah?"

"…We won, right? Majin Buu…is gone…isn't he?"

"Of course. You saw. Piccolo-san can't lose, he's the best." _Even as he says it, there is no confident in Trunks' voice._

"…My brother…is he gonna be OK?"

_Just then, Piccolo stirs. Trunks sets him down on the ground where he struggles, but succeeds in standing on his own two feet. A bit shakily, he bends down himself and slings Gohan's beaten body over his shoulders._

"Don't Piccolo-san, you're hurt too…" _Trunks trails off._

"Listen carefully, boys. We have to get out of here…as soon as…possible…"

"But why?" _Goten asks. _"You did it, Piccolo-san!"

"Yeah!" _Trunks chimes in excitedly. _"You beat Buu!"

"No…if that guy was so easy to beat…he wouldn't…" _Piccolo trails off, his head snapping to the side quickly. His eyes widen…Buu is still alive._

"What's wrong, Piccolo-san?"

"…Boys, quick! Take Gohan and get out of here RIGHT NOW!"

"B-but—"

"NOW!" _He screams, tossing Gohan's body to his younger brother. Instinctively, Goten catches him. _"GET GOING!"

_They both pause, looking at Piccolo silently. Simultaneously, they nod, taking off in the opposite direction. Piccolo takes a defensive stance, not knowing from which side Buu will reform and attack from. However, keeping his eyes peeled for a physical body, he fails to notice the puddle of pink ooze seeping past his feet…_

"Trunks-kun, do you think it was right to leave Piccolo-san like that?" _Goten calls to his friend, clutching his brother's body tightly as they run at top speed. _"I mean, he was really hurt! Even Piccolo-san could—"

"Don't even say that, Goten!" _The older boy shoots back. _"Piccolo-san knows what he's doing! He…can handle himself."

"…" _Goten looks discouraged, but continues to run._

"Dammit, where is he!" _Piccolo grits out, desperately seeking out Buu's energy signal. _"It feels like his energy is coming at me from all sides…but that's…impossible!"

_The pink ooze continues to seep through the cracks of the broken Earth, pooling itself at Piccolo's feet. Suddenly, the liquid forms itself into the form of a thin sword, arching up. By the time Piccolo takes notice, it is too late…sharply; the sword twists, impaling the Namekseijin through the chest. Coughing breathlessly, he falls forward…_

_Up ahead, Goten and Trunks halt in their tracks at the feeling of Piccolo's Ki dissipating abruptly. Both take to the air, peering back down to the battleground not too far away…_

"PICCOLO-SAN!" _Trunks screams at the sight of the green-skinned warrior's body lying lifeless on the ground below. He glowers as the sword reliquifies, pouring back into a puddle before reforming into the tangible form of Majin Buu. _"You BASTARD!" _he screams, diving back down to the previous battleground._

"Trunks-kun, wait!" _Goten cries, but is unable to get to his friend fast enough to stop him. _"We can't beat him!"

_Trunks skids to a mid-air stop before the grimacing beast. Buu takes a step forward, planting a firm foot on the fallen Piccolo's head. Trunks cringes._

"Heh, look who's back." _Buu whispers softly._

"You won't get away with this!" _Trunks screams, going Super Saiyajin once again._

"Oh-ho, feisty little guy, aren'tcha?" _Buu says, somewhat surprised. _"Hmm…You know what? I'm still huuuuuungryy…." _Trunks twitches, taking a step back as Buu once again raises the head tail. _"Hehehehe…BECOME CANDY!"

_Without any further warning, Trunks is engulfed in a field of electricity. From his distance, Goten can only make out the flashing lights, sensing the danger and racing back to his friend…He gapes in horror as Buu stands alone, holding a small, gummy Super Saiyajin…_

"T…Trunks…kun…" _he stammers._

"Heh, such a small little guy…won't make much of a snack…" _he says evilly, popping the Trunks gummy into his mouth and chewing loudly. Goten watches in speechless horror as his best friend becomes a snack for the demonic beast. _"Mmmmm…No, I'm still hungry…" _he says, stepping forward and turning his gaze up to the still-hovering Goten and the older boy draped across his shoulders._

"No, you're just a little guy, too…but the guy on your back…he'd make a nice chocolate…"

_Goten turns and shakes his brother violently, desperately trying to awaken the unconscious boy._

"'Niichan…'Niichan, you gotta wake up! 'NIICHAN!"

"BECOME CANDY!"

"'**NIICHAN!**"

"Your brother…can't save you…"

_There is a blinding flash of light…_

"'Niichan!"

Goten screams his brother's name, sitting up sharply in his bed. There is silence for a moment as he realizes his position…alone in his bedroom at night, not in the mountains fighting Majin Buu.

"…What? A…dream?" he mutters, confused. He brings a shaky hand to his forehead, wiping the sweat from his brow. "That was…so many years ago I…Why was I dreaming of that?" He recalls the resounding words _your brother can't save you_, shaking slightly in the aftershocks of the nightmare. "…'Niichan…"

Shaking his head to bring himself back to reality, Goten rises from bed. He walks quietly down the hallway, careful to not wake his sleeping mother, and walks into the bathroom. He stands before the sink, cupping his hands beneath the faucet to catch and splash cold water on his face. He shakes his head rapidly like a dog drying itself off.

"Yeesh…Why the Hell I was having a nightmare about something that happened over 10 years ago is beyond me…" he mutters, turning off the faucet and preparing to walk back to his room.

Suddenly, his head snaps back, his eyes widening in a growing fear. Still being careful to keep his footsteps silent, Goten races back to his bedroom and straight over to the window.

"What…the…Hell!" he cries, a huge pressure suddenly welling up from within. "What…there's no way that…A huge Ki! And it's getting…CLOSER! What in th—"

Before he knows what's happening, Goten finds himself leaping back just in time to avoid the body hurdling straight through his bedroom window. Glass scatters across the floor and splinters of wood as well as the chair of Goten's desk is hit dead-on.

"HEY!" Goten screams, quickly clasping his hands over his mouth. He lowers his voice to a whisper and continues to yell at the strange person in his bedroom. "Can it with the noise, asshole! You're gonna wake up my mom!"

Ignoring the boy's protests, the shadowed figure leaps across the room, trying to tackle Goten. He dodges, only to be caught by an afterimage as the mysterious stranger is suddenly behind him. Turning quickly, but not quick enough, Goten is caught directly in the face…HARD. He is sent flying across the room and straight into the opposing wall with a crash. Goten manages to bring himself to his feet, dusting the broken pieces of wall from himself.

"Dammit, you're trashing my room!" he shouts in his still half-whisper. Pointing towards the door, he nods to the stranger. "I don't know who you are or what you're doing in my house, but if we're gonna fight, we're gonna do it outside!"

The stranger nods, ignoring the door and turning rather to jump straight out the broken window to the soft grass below. Goten sighs.

"OK, I guess we're taking the window, then." He mutters before himself leaping through the gaping hole torn through his window and wall.

Goten lands on his hands and knees, clamoring up to face his strange challenger. Now illuminated by the glow of the moon, his opponent is clearly seen…or rather, that of which is not already carefully concealed. Clearly his opponent, whoever it may be, does not want to make himself known, Goten thinks. Goten looks down at himself, noticing he is dressed in his pajamas, but shrugs it off as there being more important matters before him. He looks his opponent up and down, trying to analyze any and all weaknesses.

Robed in a dark concealing cloak, the stranger appears to be a boy about Goten's own age. Although his face is almost completely hidden, enough of the boy's front can be seen for Goten to notice several unusual and somewhat unnerving details about his opponent…the boy's right arm is almost entirely wrapped in bandages, and from what Goten can decipher it appears that the arm itself suffered terrible burns. A long gold chain hangs from his neck, attached to which is a pendant engraved with the character "Rai", or thunder. There is a cross-shaped scar on his left shoulder, and around his left wrist dangles a golden chain bracelet that glints in the moonlight…the bracelet seems familiar at first, and it takes Goten a moment to recall where he had seen it before.

"Hey!" he shouts. "You're that kid me an' Trunks-kun met in the alley that day…aren't you?" he pauses, giving the other boy a moment to respond, but receiving nothing. He glowers, grinning slightly. "You are…I knew there was something not-so-ordinary about you, kid…So what exactly do you want with me!"

"Die, Son Goten!" is the only answer given. Goten's eyes widen in shock.

"What? How do you know my—" Goten has only a second to leap out of the way as the boy charges at him. Goten goes to punch but his enemy ducks instantly, sliding between his legs and skidding behind him. Reading the move Goten turns and kicks him hard, sending him flying forward. The stranger pushes down on his hands on the ground, digging his feet into the dirt to slow himself down. Pushing back up on flat palms he kicks his legs straight into the air before taking to the sky himself. Goten is thrown for a loop as his opponent hovers in the sky above him, preparing his next maneuver.

_So he can manipulate Ki after all…_Goten thinks to himself._ There's definitely something not quite human about him. It's no coincidence that me and Trunks-kun met him in the alley that day…whoever he is; he's been LOOKING for us. But there's something that's not quite…ugh, I can't put my finger on it, but…_he shakes his head, trying to keep himself in the game.

"So you can fly too, huh? Heh, figures." Goten says, grinning wryly. "Well COME ON! Show me what else you've got, then!"

Seemingly in compliance to the boy's request, the stranger begins furiously tossing Ki blasts to rain downward upon Goten. Noting the somewhat predictable move Goten back flips, dodging each of them. Soon he begins firing beams in more erratic patterns, but Goten is able to read each of them and dodge accordingly.

"Come on, you've gotta be able to do better than THAT!" he teases, egging his foe on.

The next blast is a considerably larger one, and is thrown with immense force directly towards Goten. Bracing himself, Goten shoots both of his palms forward, preparing to push the attack back…

"Huh?"

Suddenly, however, to Goten's surprise, the blast freezes in its own tracks about 2 feet away from him. Confused, Goten pauses, folding his arms and looking at the frozen blast quizzically. So distracted by the blast, he fails to notice as the boy in the sky vanishes from sight…taking another moment to inspect the ball of energy, Goten moves to step forward, walking until he is mere inches away from it.

"Huh…" he trails off. "This thing really isn't moving at all, is it?" he laughs inwardly, poking the blast. "Hahahahaha! And here I was afraid that it was gonna—"

Suddenly, the boy reappears behind Goten, making a few unusual hand signals. As if on cue, the blast explodes right in Goten's face, blowing the dark-haired boy sky high…a moment later, as the smoke clears; Goten falls back limply to the ground, his body smoldering. He lies motionless for a few minutes before the stranger moves to stand over him, arms folded. He speaks, his voice muffled slightly by the cloak.

"Get up Son Goten!" he calls down to him. "I know that isn't all you've got."

Goten's eyes suddenly snap open and he struggles to his feet. Brushing dirt off of his body and wiping blood from his lip, he can only manage to grin at his foe.

"Hehe…he…" he laughs through heavy breath. "That was…a pretty clever move…" He stands straight now, bracing back and clenching his fists. "You know, it's been a long time since I've fought someone like this…besides Trunks-kun, of course…" As he begins to power up, his opponent appears somewhat startled, although it is difficult to tell through the clothing.

"But you're right!" he screams, bursting forth even more power. The trees in the yard begin to sway in the wind whipped up by Goten's energy. "THAT'S **NOT** ALL I'VE GOT!"

Goten screams as he is enveloped with a blinding golden light. The stranger arches back, bringing his arms up across him to block as small stones and bushes begin to be uprooted and fly straight at him. In a moment, the wind dies down, as does the light…and standing where Goten was only moments ago is a shining golden boy. The stranger steps back nervously.

"That…is that really it?" the stranger stutters. "That form…is that golden form really Super Saiyajin?" Goten cocks an eyebrow in a mix of surprise and confusion.

"What? You even know what Super Saiyajin is, huh? Geez…" he rubs the back of his head. "I don't know who you are…so I guess I'm just gonna have ta beat you and FIND OUT!" he screams, charging ahead.

The mysterious boy moves to block only to have Goten use an afterimage to get behind him. He turns and catches Goten's arm just as he goes to punch. Goten moves to punch with his left arm, only to have that caught as well. Now they both stand, arms locked in a power struggle. Goten smiles, charging more energy through his arms and into his hands. He unclenches his fists and blows the other boy back with an invisible wave of energy. The cloaked boy stumbles back, regaining his bearings and taking a stance.

"Heh…well if you liked Super Saiyajin, you're gonna LOVE this one!" Goten boasts, cupping his palms together. As he begins focusing his energy into hands, the stranger stumbles back further, continuing to be amazed by his opponent.

_Impossible…_he thinks. _Being able to concentrate such a vast amount of energy into a single point…! There's no mistaking it…He has to be…_

"Kaaaaaa…" he begins, rearing back as he continues to channel energy into his palms. "Meeeeeee…"

_Impossible! I'll never be able to dodge that, and trying to block would be certain suicide! _the stranger continues to ponder. _I have no choice…I'll have to use…that…_

"Kaaaaaa….Meeeeeeeee………" Goten yells, his voice rising in volume as he mispronounces the legendary technique passed down from the Turtle School. Finally ready, he thrusts his hands forward and releases the blast.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he cries, the beam hurtling forward directly at the strange boy.

_Too late!_ The boy thinks, jumping back. The chain around his neck begins to crackle with energy as he raises both of his hands skyward.

Lightning begins to spark through the sky and, as if harnessing its very electrical energy, the boy brings his hands down and slams them into the ground below, palms open flat. Goten reels back as the earth begins to shake and crumble beneath him, the boy pumping huge amounts of energy directly into it. A large crater forms directly beneath the boy and he crouches within it, an electromagnetic barrier forming like a dome on top of it. Goten freezes, lowering his hands as his blast continues to travel forward.

"What the Hell!" he cries in surprise as the blast reaches the sparking barrier and suddenly stops. Inside the dome, the boy raises his right hand and makes another hand signal. Goten watches, frozen in shock as his own blast is sent bouncing off the barrier and sent directly back at him.

"N…no way…" Goten trails off, sweat dripping down his face as he leaps back.

_No time to dodge…dammit, dammit!_ He panics. Thinking quickly, he outputs more energy into his Super Saiyajin form, hoping for a boost in speed enough to dodge his own attack. However, as if feeding directly off his energy, the blast suddenly grows and Goten's Super Saiyajin form breaks. His eyes widen in terror.

"Son of a—" he is cut off as the blast hits him head-on. There is an enormous explosion as the dark-haired boy is sent hurdling backwards, smashing back against his own house with a deafening crash. The force of the impact causes the wall to crumble and a piece of siding catches Goten just the right way as he falls, tearing a gash through his stomach. He can only shudder in pain as his body falls, and in the chaos and confusion of the explosion, the mysterious boy disappears…

Meanwhile, inside Gohan's neighboring house, little Pan springs up in her bed at the sound of the explosion. Without any forethought she leaps out of bed and runs outside, only to see her uncle's body in a charred heap against his house.

"Goten-Jisan!" she screams, running over to him. She shakes his fallen body rapidly, trying to get the boy to come to. After a moment, Goten manages to forcibly open his eyes, looking down at his young niece.

"P…Pan-chan?" he struggles.

"Goten-Jisan! You're hurt!" he cries frantically. "What happened?" He looks down, noticing his singed and bloodied pajamas.

"I…uh…" he trails off, trying to come up with a reply.

"Don't try to talk if it will hurt you!" she urges. "Just hold on, I'll get my daddy! He'll help for sure, hold on!"

"…'Ni…Niichan?" he asks in a weak voice. However, Pan is already gone.

Moments later she comes running back down, holding her father's hand tightly and dragging him over to his younger brother's fallen form.

"Goten!" he gasps in surprise. "Goten, are you alright? GOTEN!"

"…'Niichan…"

"That's right, Goten, it's me!" Goten reassures him. "I'm right here, little brother, it's OK!" he turns to his daughter. "Pan, get him some water, quick!" She nods and runs back inside the house. Turning back to Goten, he tries to prop his brother up against the heap of rubble that was once the wall of his house.

"'Nii…chan…"

"What? Goten, what is it?"

"You're…"

"Don't worry, I'm here, it's going to be OK!" Gohan shouts back to him.

"'Nii…you weren't…" he trails off. "Why didn't you…come? Why…"

"What? Why didn't I what?"

"…I was…I was hurt and you didn't…you weren't there…to save…me…just like…before…"

"Goten, what are you TALKING about!" Gohan panics, shaking his brother's body. "You've lost a lot of blood! We need to bandage up that gash in your stomach, Goten! Are you listening to me? Come on, snap out of it! We've got to get you to a doctor, or someone who can help you!" Suddenly, Goten's eyes spring completely open. Reacting on impulse, he quickly swats his brother away from him. Gohan looks at him in confusion.

"Gote—"

"DON'T touch me!" he shouts back at his brother.

"What! Gote—"

"I don't need any help from YOU!" he shoots back, shoving Goten aside and clamoring to his feet. "You weren't there for me back then, you weren't there for me tonight, you're NEVER there for me anymore! So what the HELL do you think is gonna accomplish by you being here now!"

"I—"

"Absolutely frickin' NOTHING!" he screams at the top of his voice. "I've…gotten used to it. I've gotten used to being let down by you."

"Go—"

"Just…just go back into your house and go back to sleep, alright? I'll be fine, really." He turns and approaches the door, his back to his brother. Gohan stretches an arm out after him, searching for the right thing to say.

"Goten…are you…are you sure you'll be OK?"

"…Yeah."

Gohan pauses, finally deciding to go back into the house. As Pan comes running out with the glass of water requested earlier, Gohan pats his daughter on the shoulder and shakes his head…She gazes at Goten, noticing what his brother did not. There are tears in the boy's eyes. She nods to her father and returns with him to the house, shutting the door behind them.

Inside his house, Gohan leads his daughter back to bed, tucking her in before retreating the room. He walks towards his own bedroom where his wife is still miraculously asleep despite the noise, but pauses, turning and entering the bathroom. He splashes cold water on his face and catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror. For just a split second, he sees himself as he used to be; when he was still a strong young teenager. Then, in an instant, his visual shatters as if the very glass himself, and he sees himself for what he is now. He removes his glasses and tosses them across the room, making his way out of the bathroom.

"…What have I become?"

Outside, Goten collapses again, not even having the strength to walk back into his house. It was true; he had lost a lot of blood and could have really hurt himself…but this was better than having to be rescued by the shadow of what his brother once was, he decided. Yes, this is better, he thinks, before succumbing to losing consciousness.

Deeming the coast clear, the mysterious boy comes out from hiding…he stands, sidling the wall of Gohan's house, never having actually fled. He sighs in relief before pulling the cloak down off of his face…

Kanba sighs, brushing his mussed up hair from his face.

"Sheesh…" he says, wiping sweat from his forehead. "That was a little harder than I expected it to be…" He tosses a glance down towards the still unconscious boy a few feet away, frowning slightly. "I'm sorry, Goten-san…I wish I didn't have to be so rough on you, but…"

He walks over to the passed-out boy, tearing a piece of bandage from his own arm and wrapping it tight around the still-bleeding hole in Goten's stomach. Then, closing his eyes in tight concentration, he places both palms flat against the boy's wound…a mysterious light radiates forth as the chain on his left wrist shakes, and all of a sudden, the bleeding stops.

"There, at least now you won't bleed to death…" he mutters. He shakes his head solemnly, glancing at the sleeping body one last time before floating upwards into the air, straightening the chain around his neck.

"…If you couldn't handle a skirmish like this…" Kanba whispers, his eyes turning cold as he goes on. "…Then there would be no way you'd survive against THEM…I'm sorry, but this is the only way to be sure…" he looks down at Goten one last time before taking off through the star-dusted night sky, leaving it up to fate whether or not the smaller boy would live or die…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning. As the sun rises and dawn breaks on the Son House, Goten has yet to stir from the previous night's expedition. And so, Trunks' surprise is understandable as he arrives at his friend's house for their usual morning walk to school.

"Hey Goten!" he calls, leaping through the air, already dressed in his school uniform. "Time for school!" He lands on the grass below, approaching the door and preparing to knock. However, he stops as something catches his attention out of the corner of his eye.

"What the Hell?" he calls somewhat puzzled at the sight of his friend's body, tossed broken and bloodied against the cracked wall of his house. He runs over to the younger boy in a frantic panic. "Goten! GOTEN!" he screams, desperately shaking his friend's body. "Are you alright! Goten, WAKE UP! You…uh…" his panic quickly turns to a low chuckle at the sight of a slight trickle of drool on the other boy's lip. Moving in closer, Trunks listens carefully to the sounds coming from his young friend.

"Z…z…Z…z…Z…z…Z…z…"

"…Snoring?" he wonders aloud before slapping his own forehead. "Sleeping. He's SLEEPING. Way to worry me half to death, jackass…" he mutters under his breath, smiling still as he curses his friend. "Well wake up, we gotta go to school." He says, slapping his friend across the face several times in succession…to no avail, as Goten continues to snore away. Trunks sighs.

Getting to his feet, Trunks ponders his next move. "Aha!" he exclaims, catching sight of the garden hose on the side of the house. Smirking sinisterly, he walks over to the hose, kneeling down to turn the faucet on.

"This'll get you up." He says, grinning devilishly as he walks up to his friend, pointing the hose at his body, finger on the trigger as if it were a handgun. "Wake up!" he cries just before dousing his friend with the hose on full-blast, spraying the boy from head to toe.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Goten cries, leaping to his feet at a speed that would lead one to forget that he almost bled to death the previous night. "Cold cold cold cold COOOOOOOOOLD!" He dances around frantically, suddenly taking notice of the lavender-haired boy standing before him, holding his sides laughing. "What? Trunks-kun!" Goten's eyes drift down and notice the still dripping hose at the boy's feet. He grimaces, realizing the reason he's soaked. "Trunks-kun…"

"Ahahahahahahahahahaha! That was HILLARIOUS!" Trunks roars, doubling over in laughter. Goten clenches his fists.

"Trunks-kun…" he growls, preparing to leap at the other boy…however, he stops and collapses in crippling pain, recalling his wounds from the previous night. "Aaaahh!" he groans before falling straight back down against the hole in the house. Noticing this, Trunks' laughter ceases and he runs over to his friend in concern.

"Goten, are you OK?" he screams. He manages to catch the boy just in time as he falls again trying to climb to his feet. "Goten!"

"Owww…" he mutters, clutching his stomach. He pauses, noticing the bandage there. "Huh?"

"Goten, what happened to you?" Trunks asks, a hint of worry in his voice.

_That's what I'd like to know…_he thinks to himself, fingering the bandages slightly. _Who put this here? 'Niichan? But it's…_

"Goten?" Trunks breaks in again, snapping the dark-haired boy from his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Are you alright? You seem even more out of it than usual! What happened here?"

"W…What do you mean?"

"I mean, look around! Your house is trashed, you're covered in bruises and scrapes, your pajamas are…" he pauses, holding in a chuckle. Goten cocks an eyebrow in confusion.

"Huh? What? What's so funny?"

"Kkk…" he struggles to avoid bursting out in laughter at his wounded friend's expense. "Why are you wearing teddy bear pajamas?"

Goten looks down at himself, still dressed in his pajamas from the night before-after all, he had pretty much been pulled straight out of bed to battle a total stranger in the middle of the night. His pajamas are a mix of white and sky blue, dotted with tiny images of teddy bears all over. Goten tries desperately to scowl through his embarrassment, blushing a bright red.

"Well, that's, uh…" he stumbles over his words. "You squirted me with the hose!" he comes back, trying to change the subject.

"I had to, you were passed out!" Trunks calls back, defending his use of the hose to wake his friend. "What the Hell happened to you? You look like you were gang-banged in the middle of the night or something!"

"I was…" Goten begins, cringing in pain again as he tries to stand. Trunks grabs him by the waist, helping his injured friend to his feet. "…attacked, during the night." He goes on, propping himself back against what remains of the wall to his house.

"Attacked? By who?" Trunks asks curiously.

"I…I'm not sure, but he was…" Goten trails off, recalling his opponent. _He looked…like HIM…_he muses. "…He was really strong."

"I guess, to be able to do this to you…" Trunks mutters, brushing a hand against the scar on Goten's stomach. The younger boy shudders in slight pain at the touch. "Man, with a cut that deep it's a wonder you didn't bleed to death…"

"…Yeah…" Goten replies, bringing a hand up to rest behind his head. _That's exactly the thing…how did the bleeding stop? Surely 'Niichan couldn't have done something like this, short of taking me to the hospital…_"B-but I even went Super Saiyajin! An' I hit him with the strongest KameKame Ha I had, but somehow…" he pauses as Trunks listens intently. "…He turned it back on me…"

"What! Are you SERIOUS!" Trunks gasps. Goten nods. "You STILL say KameKame Ha!" Goten face-faults as his friend verbally stabs him.

"Would you can it with the jokes already! I'm being serious here!"

"Right, right, sorry…" Trunks muses, looking curiously at the wound on Goten's stomach. "Man…Well do you think you're good enough to go to school? If not, I can always cover for you."

"N-no, I'll be fine…" he mutters.

"Well then you'd better go get dressed." Trunks says, pointing at Goten's current garments. "Unless you'd rather come to school dressed as Mr. Kuma-chan, the cuddly little bear cub!"

"TRUNKS-KUN!" Goten cries, slamming his friend in the head.

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Later than morning, the boys sit in class, having been caught once again at their usual game of playing hooky on the roof. Still, Goten can't get the previous night's battle off his mind, his injury serving as a constant reminder of his opponent's strength.

_That guy…I don't understand it…_Goten thinks to himself. _All of it…it's too convenient. To have met me an' Trunks-kun that day in the alley…somehow tracking me to my house…why me and not Trunks-kun, though? Trunks-kun is stronger than I am, so why come after me specifically? And his Ki…_

Goten looks up from his desk, still deep in his thoughts. He tosses a glance over to Trunks, who is predictably asleep with his head down on his desk.

_I couldn't tell Trunks-kun that. But I swear…it didn't feel human…but it didn't feel Saiyajin either…it was strong, that's for sure, but it wasn't the same as the feeling that I got from HIM…_

Goten's gaze wanders from his friend over to the long-haired boy who sits attentively, listening to the teacher's lecture like a good student.

_THAT guy…For a minute, I thought it felt like him, but…it was different…_he glares at the mysterious new student, but it goes unnoticed. _Who exactly ARE you, Kanba?_

Although he appears not to notice, Kanba can feel Goten watching him. He goes on listening to the lesson, his gaze never leaving the front board…he smiles inwardly, eager to continue stringing the younger boy along in this game.

_Heh, who am I? That's what you're thinking, isn't it, Son Goten? _Kanba ponders as if reading Goten's very thoughts. _I'm sorry, but you can't know the answer to that just yet…I need to observe you just a little bit longer, it's the only way I can know…_

All of a sudden, the friendly smile leaves Kanba's face and he takes on a much more serious expression.

_I need to see your full potential. Son of Son Gokou or not, at the level you fought with last night, there's no way you could defeat ME, let alone…_he shudders slightly, but shrugs it off, turning his attention to the still-asleep lavender-haired boy on the other side of him. _The same goes for you as well, son of the great Saiyajin Prince…_

He folds his arms in front of him, resting his head on his hands and leaning forward on his desk.

_But to do that…to be able to test you both to your full limits…I need a better plan._ He continues to think. _I need to find out what the two of you are capable of, both individually, and as a team…_

By now, even Goten has succumbed to the sheer boredom of Darune's History class, having collapsed face first on his desk. Surely, in his sleep, even Goten was able to sense the spark in Kanba's energy as his gaze continued to drift between himself and the lavender-haired boy. The optimistic chill that ran through his very being, yet at the same time the sinister desire to push his new classmates to the brink of death and back…Or so, Kanba thought, vastly overestimating the dark-haired boy's intuitive skills. In reality, the only thoughts permeating the smaller boy's sleeping thoughts were visions of food.

But still, though he may not have even himself consciously realized it, the excitement was building in Goten as well. The thrill of the impending danger called out to his Saiyajin blood, even though he didn't necessarily himself feel it…And through it all, his suspicions of Kanba were slowly beginning to come true…Whether he himself realized it or not.

-END OF CHAPTER 4-


	6. Chapter 5

Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Chapter 5

"Treasure or Corruption? All Four, Into The Complex"

Notes-

Sigh…Another chapter where I have had to cut an EXTENSIVE amount of material…leaving me a lot of room to fill. Well, in short, that's my excuse for taking so long before writing this chapter. Sorry for making you all wait, yes, I have received the death threats in some of your reviews…;; Anyways, notes on Chapter 5. Well, the "filler" material I've added is actually oddly important to the story-strange, as it never existed until now (seriously, I just thought this up about 2 minutes ago and am now about to begin writing dies) and yet I have worked it in so that it is actually pretty CRUCIAL…Uh, yeah, that makes sense. Sure, SG2, we believe you. stab As for the rest of the chapter, the stuff that's REALLY important, AKA the stuff that was ALWAYS Chapter 5…well, we have more to keep you in suspense about Kanba, and I know how much you've all come to love that, heh (I laugh because my friends who have been alongside me as I've been writing IGNO for the past 2 years already know the whole truth behind him…and yoooooooooou don't, Hahahaha dances I'd also like to note that I have had a little too much sugar and am a bit hyper now, hence this bizarre notes section…those chocolate robin's eggs they sell close to Easter? MY ADDICTION. BEWARE THE SUGAR-CRAZED SG2…WOW, OFF-TOPICNESS…ahem). And also, if you don't remember what happened in Chapter 2, you may want to reread that before reading this chapter, as a somewhat minor character introduced therein has returned, and head's up-she's IMPORTANT! So, with all that out of the way, I am going to go eat more chocolate eggs (no, not dolphin eggs, inside joke…ah, you people who don't visit my website (this site disables links so I'll cheat the system like this- **s 9 . i n v i s i o n f r e e . c o m / i g n o /** just negate the spaces) are MISSING OUT), and I present thee with IGNO 5.

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman, 3/30/06

"Hey, GOTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!"

The familiar cry echoes through the air of yet another sunny morning as Trunks dives out of the sky, landing on the soft grass of his best friend's backyard. Once again, as with every morning, he took it upon himself to greet the other boy before heading off together to school-a routine they had both long since gotten used to. However, this morning was different somehow. Trunks' face takes on a quizzical expression as he walks casually up to the door of the Son House, surprised that his friend had yet to answer his call.

"Excuse me!" he calls aloud, tapping the front door three swift times with his clenched fist. "Goten! Chi-Chi-san! Excuse me!" The door opens and Trunks is greeted by the smiling face of Goten's mother.

"Oh, good morning, Trunks-kun!" she says smiling.

"Good morning, Chi-Chi-san!" he responds politely. "Um, is Goten awake yet? I thought we'd walk to school together like we usually do. Or, fly, really…" he says, blushing in embarrassment. Chi-Chi only laughs at the remark.

"Well actually, Goten's not here right now." She says, causing a look of surprise to show itself on the face of the lavender-haired boy.

"What? Not here?" he asked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well", she goes on to say, "I was surprised myself. When I woke up this morning he was already out of bed, and nowhere to be found. I don't know where he could have gone, but it must have been important for him to wake up so early. You know how much he loves to sleep."

"Y-yeah…" Trunks trails off. Gone? Why would Goten be missing at this hour of the morning? Trunks' eyes suddenly spring wide open in remembrance of the previous day, when he had come upon an unconscious Goten covered in blood. "No…It can't be…"

"Hm?" Chi-Chi inquires. "What's wrong?"

"N…nothing. Don't worry about Goten, Chi-Chi-san. I'll go find him!" he replies, already off and running as he waves back at the woman behind him. As he takes off into the sky in a burst of energy, Chi-Chi can only look after him in confusion.

"…" she ponders. "Those two sure are a strange pair…" She shakes her head silently before retreating back into the house, closing the door behind her.

As he flies through the air, Trunks can only wonder in worry as to the whereabouts and condition of his best friend.

"It fits together well enough…" he mutters to himself. "First Goten gets attacked in the middle of the night, then he suddenly turns up missing? But…" he shakes his head. "No, Goten may be a blockhead, but he's not stupid enough to let himself get captured or killed so easily…besides, I can still sense his Ki well enough, so I know he's not hurt or in trouble…"

"…I'm trusting you to take care of yourself, Goten." And with that, he increases speed, heading straight off in the direction of West Capitol High School.

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"Um, Piccolo-san?"

At the sound of a somewhat familiar voice, the green-skinned Namekseijin's concentration is broken. He cracks open one eye and looks at the young boy standing beside him. For a second, he mistakes the boy for another whom he used to look after long ago, before coming to his senses.

"Goten?" he asks, the surprise notable in his deep voice. "What are you doing all the way out here? Shouldn't you be in school right now?"

"Yeah, I kinda skipped." He says in a quiet tone. "I was hopin' I could talk to you…" Piccolo releases his meditative position, stepping out from under the waterfall as Goten moves to sit on a nearby boulder. Yes, this place was familiar, Goten thought. Such landscapes were Piccolo's training grounds of choice; perhaps due to his unusual heritage.

Long long ago, Piccolo and the one known as Kami-Sama, the God of the Earth, has been of one body before splitting into two separate personages, forming the evil Great Demon King Piccolo Daimaoh. Originally, that individual had been of a planet known as Nameksei, a lush green place abundant with natural beauty, before being sent to Earth by parents during a planetary cataclysm. Or so he had heard, Goten thought. Since Piccolo and Kami-Sama had rejoined their spirits, becoming of one body again, maybe the nostalgia of his childhood had returned…though perhaps it had never left to begin with. Either way, Goten could remember wandering out to such places frequently as a child, usually in search of his older brother. He always thought it ironic; the way that Gohan idolized the Namekseijin warrior wasn't so different from the way the younger boy had always idolized his older brother. Perhaps, he thought, that was why Piccolo was the best person to speak to on the subject. And perhaps he felt the very same distain for what Gohan had become that Goten himself felt.

Piccolo sits beside Goten as the dark-haired boy hugs his knees tightly to himself, just like a little child. Just as Piccolo had seen him many times before; truly, there were many things about Goten that hadn't changed over the course of ten years.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about?" Piccolo asks in a soft voice, prompting Goten to look up at him.

"…My brother…" he begins reluctantly. "Back when I was little…ever since I can remember, 'Niichan…Gohan…was always hangin' around you. He was always talkin' about you, 'Piccolo-san is great', 'Piccolo-san is the best', stuff like that…Heh, I actually think he talked about you more than he talked about our dad…" he laughs a bit, shifting his feet uncomfortably. Piccolo manages a small smile.

"…Is that so?" he says, recalling all his past experiences with Son Gokou's first-born. Ever since Gohan was a little boy, Piccolo had always been there for him; back when he was just a spoiled little four-year old boy. In such a way, he knew Gohan better than anyone else, maybe even more than Gokou did. He listens intently as Goten goes on.

"Anyways, I can remember…back when I was probably only 3 years old, even…'Niichan was always sneakin' off to go visit you…Okaasan was never too happy about that, since she wanted him to study…I guess she thought that with our dad gone that 'Niichan could focus more on school work instead of martial arts…but 'Niichan didn't want that…" he sighs lightly, and Piccolo takes notice of this. "But now…"

"Now you feel like it's the opposite, don't you?" Piccolo asks. "You feel like he's so busy with his new life as a scholar these days that he doesn't have time for martial arts anymore…that he doesn't have time for you…am I right?" Goten nods silently.

"…Yeah." He replies coolly. Releasing his hold on his knees, Goten sits up, looking Piccolo in the eye inquisitively. "Can I ask you a question, Piccolo-san?"

"Sure."

"What was my brother like as a kid?" he asks. "You've known him a lot longer than I have…I mean, I've heard all the stories and everything, about all the crazy stuff that happened before I was born, but…" he looks at Piccolo, a somewhat melancholy look in his eyes. "…What was he really like back then?"

Piccolo closes his eyes and inhales deeply, leaning back against the cool rock. He turns his gaze upward to the sky, unsure where to begin.

"…You're brother…" he starts. "During the time I knew him, he changed a lot. He grew up…"

"…" Goten sits back, listening intently to his brother's mentor.

"When I first met Gohan, he was a spoiled little brat. Your father had just died…the first time…and with the impending threat upon us, I took it upon myself to look after your brother. To train him. Because I guess back then, I saw what no one else saw in him-potential. And in turn, he was the one who saw what no one else, including myself, saw within me…" He smiles inwardly, caught up in the nostalgia of the past.

"Gohan was the first person to ever show me kindness. Back then, I still had the spirit of Piccolo Daimaoh…I guess you could call him my "father", but since he was also very much "myself", it was very confusing…but the bottom line is I wanted nothing to do with humans. Though my eye was set particularly on killing your father, I guess you could say a part of me always wanted revenge…on all humans. But that's another story…"

"So, my brother was nice to you?" Goten breaks in. Piccolo nods.

"Heh, you could say that. Although to this day, I'm not sure why…I took him from his home, worked him like a dog, doing anything and everything to bring out his latent power…I was a monster, using him only for my own desire. But still, your brother…" he pauses for a moment before continuing. "He was nice to me. He told me that I seemed like 'a nice guy', even though he knew what I once was, and how I viewed his father. That was the first time I ever felt compassion for another. I felt that, for some reason I couldn't quite understand, I wanted to protect this child…"

"So, that's why you…" Goten trails off.

"Yes." Piccolo responds. "I gave my life to save his…And as I lay dying, he shed tears for me…and I for him. And before I died, I realized I had finally found someone I could call 'friend'."

"…" Goten is silent, Piccolo's words causing him to feel things he had never felt of his brother before.

"After I came back to life, thanks to the wish made on my home planet's own Dragonballs; the Dragonballs that Gohan and he friends risked their lives to gather, just to bring me back…I arrived on Nameksei myself, seeing the planet I was born on for the first time in my life. And when I saw Gohan there…"

"It was like he was a completely different person. He had grown up so much…it had been less than a year, and yet he was already so brave and strong…I couldn't help but be proud of him. And the years that passed after that only showed more promise for him, as he continued to grow. He became a Super Saiyajin…and he even surpassed that, before anyone else, and defeated that monster Cell, something even your amazing father couldn't do…" he looks at Goten and smiles. "But I'm sure you've heard the story of that time, at least."

"…Well, yeah, I've heard it…" Goten says quietly. "But hearing it from you…it just seems so different. So unreal…"

"How so?"

"Well…when I was growing up, 'Niichan was all I had. My dad was gone, and 'Niichan was the only one I had that I could look up to. I had always been a little bit jealous of Trunks-kun for having a dad like Vegeta-san, when I never knew mine…but somehow, just having 'Niichan nearby made me forget all that. He was so great…"

"You say it like he doesn't exist anymore." Piccolo says, snickering slightly.  
"Well, I mean, in a way it's like he DOESN'T…" Goten mutters. "In such a short amount of time…he's changed so much."

"That's what happens. People change."

"I know that…" he goes on. "But when you were talking about him, and how much he had changed, it made him sound incredible…but now I think about how he's changed THIS time, what he is now…"

"He's an adult now." Piccolo adds. "He's grown up, gotten married and started his own family. He's working to support them and create a peaceful life…after all, the world is at peace now."

"But does that mean he should quit training altogether?" Goten asks sadly. "I mean…What am I training for? Because I know it's what Otousan would have wanted. He told me…before he left…But he didn't say anythin' to 'Niichan…"

"That's because he knows your brother is happy."

"Is that…really the reason?" Goten trails off. Piccolo smiles, placing a clawed hand on the dark-haired boy's shoulder. Goten looks up at him.

"Goten." Piccolo says. "Just because your brother has a family to look after now…just because he's stopped training to work and take care of them…doesn't mean he's stopped caring about YOU."

"…But…"

"Your brother loves you. He could never stop caring about you. Just like I know…" he looks into the sky once again, smiling. "He hasn't stopped caring about me."

"…Piccolo-san…" Piccolo slaps Goten on the back, rising to his feet.

"Now then, what do you say you get back to school? You shouldn't skip out on your education."

"Heh, you sound like 'Niichan." Goten says smugly.

"Look, Goten. Your brother taught me a lot of things. I'm sure he's taught you a lot too. You shouldn't just dismiss him because you think he's not the same anymore. He's still your brother, and believe it or not, he's still the same person he always was. I've known him long enough to know that no matter how much he changes on the outside…" he looks at Goten. "He'll always be the same Gohan on the inside."

"Hn." Is all Goten can manage, snorting a bit before standing up and stretching. "Alright, if you say so, Piccolo-san…I guess if I've got nothin' better to do…I'll get back to school." Piccolo smiles.

"…Good boy."

As he watches Goten head out, the smile never leaves Piccolo's face.

"He's so different than Gohan used to be, and yet at the same time, he has no idea how much like him he is..." he looks at the clouds as they dance through the sky.

"Gohan, you've come a long way from the boy I once knew…" he thinks aloud. "If what you are now makes you happy, than martial arts wasn't meant to be your path. But I'm not disappointed. You've become your own man, and I'm proud of you."

And with that, he returns to the waterfall to resume his training.

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Mid-morning in downtown West Capitol city. The students of West Capitol High School are going about their usual business, that is to say, sitting idly in their boring classes for hours on end. The situation is no different in Mr. Darune's second-period History class. As the teacher goes about the lesson, the students sit like good attentive children, taking notes in their notebooks…for the most part. In the back of the classroom sits the not-always-so-friendly acquaintance of Goten and Trunks, Mizuumi Kori, etching the lavender-haired boy's name alongside the word "kill" with a jackknife clenched tightly in her left hand into her desk. The girl beside her draws her attention away from the eerily violent display by tapping her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Kori." She says, prompting the other girl to give her a somewhat agitated look.

"What?"

"Where are Goten and Trunks? They're awfully late today." Kori sneers, the mere mention of Trunks' name causing her blood to boil.  
"Oh, who cares! Not like they ever show up to class anyway…and if they DID…" she grins, stabbing the knife into Trunks' name on her desk harshly. "Heh."

"Well, I know they usually skip, but…" the other girl goes on. "It's still a bit unusual for neither of them to be here by now. I mean, don't they usually get caught playing hooky on the roof and sent back here by now?"

"Heh, relax, Mitsuki. It's still only…" she pauses, glancing at her watch. "10:07 AM. They're usually not thrown back into class until about—"

She is cut off as the door to the classroom in flung open with a crash.

"GET IN AND STAY THERE!" comes the loud voice of Ms. Otokorashi as she tosses the boys through the open door, sending them both skidding across the floor of the classroom. "Hmph, men!" she fumes before slamming the door shut and making her exit.

"…Heh, 10:08 AM. They're two minutes earlier than usual." Kori snickers.

"Ow…God Dammit…" Trunks grumbles, standing and helping the younger boy to his feet. "That damn Otokorashi! 'Men', she says…she's practically a frickin' man HERSELF; she should take a good look in the MIRROR!"

"AHEM." Both boys look to the front of the room simultaneously as Darune stands, arms folded, a very angry look on his face.

"Oh, hi Darune-Sensei…" Trunks laughs nervously.

"S-sorry we're late…" Goten says, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Take your seats, please." He says in a menacing monotone.

"Yes, sir!" they say at once, taking their place side by side in the back of the classroom.

"So you were talking with Piccolo-san?" Trunks asks Goten, continuing a conversation apparently started before they were so rudely tossed into the classroom. "What about?"

"Aw, nothin' much…" Goten murmurs. "Just stuff…about my brother, and how—" he pauses, looking curiously at the empty desk in the row beside his. "Hey, where's Kanba?" he asks curiously. Trunks turns and notes the empty desk as well, strangely taken aback by the boy's absence.

"Hm, you're right, he's not here!" Trunks exclaims. "Wow, he doesn't seem like the type to skip, so it must be for a good reason…" he muses. Goten scowls a bit.

_Yeah…Good reason, I'm sure…probably up to no good…_he thinks to himself. His train of thought is interrupted however as Kori breaks into their conversation.

"Well well well, look who actually showed up to class!" she says smugly. "Or rather, who got THROWN into class…got caught skipping again, eh Trunks?"

"Heh, can say the same for you, Kori." Trunks shoots back, grinning evilly. "You're not exactly one to come to class very often yourself."

"Fair enough." She renounces. "So, what was it this time, Trunks? You and Goten having a little alone time together?" She giggles at her own insinuation.

"We weren't DOING anything, Kori. We were just hanging out on the roof, that's all." He says quietly.

"Heh, sure. Not that I CARE, or anything…" She tosses him a glare. "I just don't want you exhausting yourself. I want you to be at full strength when I kick your ass this time. That way you can't accuse me of 'not playing fair'."

"Anywhere, anytime, Kori!" he shouts back, becoming agitated now. Kori had that kind of effect on him, although he couldn't understand why. She just pissed him off.

"Really? Then how about right now?" she teases, egging him on. Trunks stands up fiercely, ready to start a fight in the middle of class just to prove her wrong.

"Alright, that's it!" he screams. "You and me, RIGHT NOW, Kori!"

"SIT DOWN, Mr. Briefs!" Mr. Darune shouts, Trunks' outburst disrupting his class.

"NO! NOT UNTIL THIS BITCH—" They are interrupted yet again as the door of the class opens. "Oh, great, it better not be HER again!" he screams, expecting Ms. Otokorashi to once again put a damper on his plans.

However, this time it is Kanba who steps through the door. The class is silent as the boy politely bows, announcing to the class the reason for his tardiness.

"Excuse me, Darune-Sensei…" he begins. "Forgive me for being so late, I had a difficult time getting a ride here."

_Hard time getting a ride!_ Goten screams inside his head. _Give me a break! Like Darune is gonna buy an excuse like that just because—_

"That's quite alright, Kanba-kun." Darune says, smiling. "Please, by all means, take your seat."

"Of course." As Kanba heads towards his desk, Goten stares at him, mouth agape.

_WHAT THE HELL! But…he just…_

"Hey, Kanba-han, what's up?" Trunks grins, greeting the taller boy. "We were afraid you wouldn't show up today!"

"Heh, sorry to keep you waiting, Trunks-san." He smiles.

_Oh come on!_ Goten thinks angrily. _Am I the ONLY ONE who sees past this kid's nice-guy act!_

"So, Kanba-han", Trunks goes on. "We were just discussing who would win in a fight between me and Kori over there."

"Hmph, liar, you weren't 'discussing', you were about to leap across the room and attack Kori-chan…" Goten mumbles.

"Heh, well, either way…" Trunks says, a sweatdrop forming on his forehead. "Who do you think would win in a fight, Kanba-han? Me?" he slowly turns his head towards Kori, a grimace forming on his face. "Or that tricky little thinks-she's-so-much-better-than-everyone-else minx over there?"

"Oh, give it a REST, Trunks, you know you ca—" As Kori turns to face the three on the other side, her gaze falls onto Kanba, who to this point she has only seen indirectly from across the room. In an instant, the usually cocky tough-girl expression on her face dulls, and she blushes a deep red, unable to tear her gaze from the attractive long-haired boy. Trunks watches her in confusion for a moment before realizing what is going on, grinning sinisterly.

"Hahahaha, well what do we have here?" he teases evilly. "Well, looks like Kori's got a crush on Kanba!"

"What? Kori-chan?" Goten says, a bit surprised. Kori blinks a few times, shaking her head and blushing even harder.

"W-w-what! That's crazy, you don't know what the Hell you're talking about!" she yells, trying poorly to defend herself. "I don't GET crushes! You're out of your mind!" Trunks laughs.

"Hahahahahaha! Goten, will you take a look at this? She's trying to hide it now! I guess you're a bit more of a girly-girl than we thought, Kori!"

"I am so NOT!" she continues to argue. "Girly-girls like dolls and makeup and fashion and crap like that! I like FIGHTING!" By this point Trunks is reeling, holding his sides with laughter and fighting to not fall out of his seat. Kanba can only sit and watch in confusion, despite the subject centering so much on himself.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The fact that you're fighting so hard to DENY it just proves it even more! Man, I can't even believe this! Kori, of all people! This is PRICELESS! Kori liiiiikes Kaaaanba!"

"Shut UP, Trunks! So HELP me, I'll—"

"TRUNKS AND FRIENDS IN THE BACK OF THE CLASSROOM!" Darune shouts at a room-shattering volume. "I've HAD it! You've disrupted my class ENOUGH for one day! I'll be seeing you ALL after school for DETENTION!"

"…Crap…" is all Trunks can say as the other three sink to their knees.

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"Man, this SUCKS!" Trunks yells, slamming his fists onto his desk. "I can't BELIEVE we all got detention for classroom disruption!"

"You can't believe it!" Kori yells back at him. "It was because of YOU! YOU were the one who kept SCREAMING at the top of his freakin' LUNGS!"

"Only because YOU were the one who—"

"Guys guys!" Goten cries out, interrupting the two before they rip each other's throats open. "The point is what's done is done, and we're here for the next hour together in detention! Does it REALLY matter who's fault it was?"

"YES!" Trunks and Kori yell in unison. Goten sighs, deciding not to even bother getting in the middle of one of Trunks and Kori's arguments. He turns his gaze to Kanba, who sits with his arms folded across his desk silently, as if the entire situation has no effect on his whatsoever. Goten's gaze hardens for a moment as he takes his seat beside the strange boy reluctantly. As he does so, Kanba looks up at him and smiles.

"Hello, Goten-san." He says politely.

"Yeah, hi…" Goten half-growls, trying to hide his obvious distrust of Kanba.

"Hm? Something wrong?"

"Oh, what? No, it's nothing…" Kanba frowns slightly, moving his desk closer to the smaller boy.

"Say, Goten-san, I was thinking…" he begins, drawing Goten's attention. "I know we just met and everything, but…"

"…"

"…Do you not like me?" At the sound of the words, Goten's eyes widen in surprise. Sure, it was completely RIGHT, but he hadn't expected Kanba to guess such a thing so quickly.

"W-what? No, what would give you that idea?" Goten stammers. Kanba continues to speak.

"It's just that you seem awfully cold whenever I'm around…I mean, I'm new here and all, and I'm just trying to make friends…"

Goten can't help but feel a little guilty as the long-haired boy sits at his desk with such a disheartened look on his face. He gives an exasperated sigh before giving in, resigning himself to at least TRY and be nice to the other boy.

"…Look, Kanba-kun, I don't HATE you." He says softly. "I guess I just don't KNOW you that well is all. I tend to get a little bit…reclusive…around strangers…"

"Well then, so, what if we GOT to know each other?" Kanba suggests. "Maybe then could we become friends?"

"…Well, I don't—"

"Oh come on, why not? We can make time for it! Why not right after detention gets out, even? You, me, Trunks-san and Kori-chan can all go do something together!"

Goten pauses to think of the boy's proposition for a moment. Outwardly, the only negative thing in his proposal seemed to be the idea of having Trunks and Kori in the same room together longer than necessary. Otherwise, it seemed like a perfectly nice offer.

_He's making an effort to be friends…I guess…I mean, the more I think about it, I don't think he's so much BAD…I just…_he looks at Kanba, who continues to smile hopefully. _There's just something ABOUT him that I can't put my finger on…something SUSPICIOUS, not necessarily BAD, or…or maybe I'm just being overly suspicious? Could that be it? I mean, Trunks-kun hasn't noticed anything so far…and if there WERE anything about this guy to actually WORRY about, he would feel it too…So I guess…it wouldn't be SO awful to just hang out with the guy…_Goten looks at Kanba and sighs.

"…Alright. I'll have to ask Trunks-kun, but I don't see any problem with that."

"Really?" Kanba says, his face beaming. "Oh, thank you, Goten-san!" Goten sighs again, a bit annoying if nothing else to have to make time for Kanba.

_Although, on the other hand if I AM still suspicious…this would be a good opportunity to observe him…_

"Hey, Trunks-kun…" Goten calls across the room.

He turns to face the lavender-haired boy locked in a death-grip with Kori on the other side of the room, preparing to jam a pencil into her neck, and she likewise holding tight to his finger over the electric pencil sharpener. Goten face-faults before running across the room to pull the volatile pair apart.

"TRUNKS-KUN! What do you think you're DOING!" he screams at his friend.

"What?" Trunks asks defensively. "She started it!"

"ANYWAYS…" he grits out, desperately trying to change the subject. _It's probably not a good idea for them both to come after all, but…_ "Kanba-kun thinks that we should all do something once this gets out."

"Huh? Do something? Like what?" he asks curiously, moving to sit at the desk next to Kanba. Kori follows close behind and soon the other three are listening intently to the long-haired boy's plans.

"Well, the thing is…" he begins.

"I heard this rumor the other day, and it caught my interest, so I decided to do a little research of my own on the subject."

"Wait a sec, is that why you—" Trunks begins.

"Yes, that's right", Kanba interjects. "That's the REAL reason I was late this morning, but please don't tell!"

"Yeah, no problem." Kori says.

"Anyway…you're all aware of the shady things that go on in Satan City, correct?" he asks, drawing nods from the other three. "Well, of course, it also used to be-and still is, to an extent, a haven for organized crime syndicates."

"You mean like the Yakuza?" Kori asks. Kanba nods.

"Yes. Anyway, one family syndicate in PARTICULAR was once extremely powerful in the area, and their headquarters was well-hidden from authorities, as well. However…"

"It wasn't long before this location was eventually discovered. As a precautionary method, the entire headquarters was burned to the ground about three years ago. It was made to look like an accident; I believe it was said that lightning struck a nearby telephone pole, and caused the fire…"

"Hey, I even remember that…" Goten muses. "About three years ago, yeah, it was all over the news and everything…"

"Yes. By making it look like a fluke, suspicion was avoided and the public was unaware of the syndicate's existence, but in reality…"

"The government acted…and burned the place down…" Trunks iterates.

"Exactly."

"So, wait…" Kori ponders out loud. "You mean the whole thing was a setup to destroy the syndicate? But that's so wrong!"

"That's how things work in Satan City, Kori-chan." Goten points out.

"Well, regardless of the reason, the fire was started. The headquarters was burned and the members of the family either managed to escape and flee or died in the fire. But either way, the complex was not ENTIRELY destroyed." This draws shocked reactions from the other three as Kanba continues to regale them. "In fact, according to the research I turned up, it still stands to this day, down at the west end of Satan City. People have long since forgotten the fire and the entire incident, however, you know, out of sight out of mind…"

"Why are you telling us all this, Kanba?" Goten asks suspiciously.

"Well…" Kanba trails off, a sinister grin twisting ever so slightly at his lips. "I was wondering if the three of you would be up for a little challenge…a game, if you will."

"A…game?" Trunks asks.

"Yes…you see, since the syndicate that once operated out of that tower was very powerful and influential, you can imagine that they were extremely wealthy as well. And, according to the information I found…there may still be treasure inside the remnants of that very complex."

"Treasure!" the other three shout in unison.

"But wait a second!" Kori cries. "If there were really treasure, and there was information readily available to people out there, don't you think it would have been found by now? Or that the government that burned the place down would have known about it and secured it for THEMSELVES?"

"Heh, that's a very good insight, Kori-chan, but it's not exactly the safest place to just go in and grab whatever might be inside. As a crime syndicate base, it was very well protected, with all manner of traps and the like, and besides…after the fire, of course, the building's structure itself became highly unstable."

"So, if there WAS treasure in there when it was burned down, chances are it's still there…" Trunks muses.

"Exactly."

"Now wait a SECOND, Kanba-kun!" Goten yells. "You expect us to go TREASURE HUNTING! In a place like THAT! After what you just described?"

"Why not?" Kanba asks, seeming genuinely confused.

"Goten's got a point, Kanba…" Trunks breaks in. "It doesn't exactly seem like the ordinary kind of place you invite friends to hang out…"

"Heh, well, I may have just met you all, but from what I've seen so far…" he passes a glance from Trunks to Kori to Goten, his gaze lingering slightly longer on the dark-haired boy. "…you aren't exactly 'ordinary' people…"

"…"

"I figured if anyone would be up to the challenge, it would be you. I mean, you ARE the toughest kids at this school, are you not?"

"Well, yeah…" Kori mutters. "But what about you? No offense, Kanba-kun, but you don't exactly look like the kind of person who could hold his own in a place like that…" Kanba just smiles.

"Oh, don't you worry about me, Kori-chan. I think you'll find I'm quite able to look after myself."

"…Well, I don't see a problem with that. I'm certainly up for a challenge, and after all, ain't like I got anythin' better to do…" Trunks says. He grins at Kori slyly. "I know I'M brave enough for it, not sure Kori has the constitution for such things, though…"

"Don't worry about me, Trunks. I'm afraid I'll have to come along just to make sure YOU don't get yourself killed-after all, I'M the only one that gets to have THAT pleasure." Trunks only snickers in response.

"Whatever." He looks over at his friend. "What about you, Goten? You comin'?" The younger boy is silent for a long moment, considering his options. Once again, his opinions of Kanba began to shift more towards the suspicious side. Still, all the more reason to go along-to see just exactly what the boy was up to.

"...Of course I'm going." He says confidently. Trunks looks a bit surprised by the response, as if having suspected him to turn the offer down. "What do you think, Trunks-kun, I'd just let you go somewhere dangerous by yourself without me to look after you?"

"Heh, I knew you'd say that." Trunks says, smiling inwardly. "Alright, then that settles it! Kanba-han, count us all in!" Kanba grins wryly, but it goes unnoticed to everyone but Goten.

"Alright, good. We'll meet up in Satan City tonight, say, 8:00 PM?"

"Heh, sounds good to me." Goten says, smiling and matching Kanba's confidence with his own. He clenches his fist and raises it skyward, swearing an oath upon it. "I never back down from a challenge, Kanba. You're on."

"…Wonderful." The long-haired boy manages, grinning smugly.

_Let's just hope your mettle is as strong as your determination, Son Goten._

-END OF CHAPTER 5-

-END OF IGNO VOLUME 1-


	7. Chapter 6

Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Chapter 6

"The Tail Unfolds! Kanba's Mystery Revealed"

Notes-

Alright, folks, we've reached officially Chapter 6 of IGNO! Oh, and yes, this is where "IGNO Volume 2" would officially begin if it were a "Manga"-which, of course, it is NOT…just because I'm a loser who draws the covers and title pages and everything short of a Manga ITSELF, I pretend like it is sometimes. Which reminds me, a realization has just suddenly hit me that not everyone magically knows what my characters look like…I mean, if I didn't know what Kanba or Kori LOOKED like, it'd be hard to read this, but maybe that's just because I'm a very visual person…either way, there are two options, you can check out all my character galleries individually on my website, here's a direct link (I've negated the spaces, again, because if I just typed a URL FF . net would have erased it, so just type this in WITHOUT the spaces **h t t p / s 9 . i n v i s i o n f r e e . c o m / I G N O / i n d e x . p h p ? s h o w f o r u m 7 **) or, if it's easier, weed through my DeviantArt gallery (spaceless, **s u u p a a g o h a n 2 . d e v i a n t a r t . c o m** )…But, yeah. As for the chapter itself, notes…hm, well, as we know, Goten is ALREADY quite suspicious of Kanba, and this chapter will both give him more reason to be so as well as possibly SUBSTANCIATE all of his EXISTING suspicions of the boy…Hell, if you didn't decipher the "cryptic" meaning of the chapter's title already…well, you're just plain stupid. Oh…and I borrowed (cough cough STOLE cough cough) the title of "The Lost Complex" from one of my all-time favorite songs, Lost Complex by Iceman from Gravitation…Heh…Well…enjoy Chapter 6 of IGNO!

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman, 4/31/06

It's a surprisingly cool night in the middle of July. In the outskirts of Satan City, the air is crisp and silent, and the area is surprisingly deserted; not even the common petty thief to be found. In the midst of it all stands the remnants of a long-forgotten former mob headquarters known only to the masses as "The Lost Complex". The nickname itself was derived from the fact that it was supposedly completely destroyed in a massive fire, which the masses were unaware was intentionally started by the city government. All traces of the building and its contents were supposedly eradicated, but although ramshackle and disheveled, the complex still stands.

8:00 PM, sharp. A teenage boy dressed in casual street clothes steps out from the shadows, glancing down at the watch on his wrist.

"8:00, exactly…" Trunks murmurs into the darkness, glancing around him. "Looks like I'm the first one here." He looks skyward, the complex towering above him. "Geez, this place is frickin' HUGE…" he mutters, shifting uncomfortably to rest against a concrete wall as he waits for his companions to arrive.

Five minutes pass. The lavender-haired boy begins to grow impatient when suddenly two others step through the narrow alleyway; a dark-haired smaller boy and a girl. They are both dressed casual like Trunks, seeming to fit quite nicely into the quiet city nightscape.

"Well, looks like you guys made it after all!" Trunks says, laughing a bit. "I knew I could count on you, Goten. Wasn't so sure Kori wouldn't chicken out, though", he adds, smirking at the long-haired girl.

"I told you, Trunks", she responds. "I had to come along just to make sure you stay alive…long enough for me to kill you, that is." She grins, and the lavender-haired boy can only chuckle in reply. Goten looks over his shoulder, somewhat impatiently.

"So where's Kanba-kun? This whole thing was his idea, don't you think he should be here by now?" he asks. Kori nods silently as Trunks gazes at his watch.

"Yeah, he said 8:00 PM, it's about 15 minutes past by now…" he says softly.

"That's weird…" Kori mutters. "What do you think could be keeping him?"

"Not sure." Goten adds in.

_But I don't have a good feeling about it, that's for sure…_

"Well, if he's not here soon, it probably means he bailed…" Trunks says, stretching restlessly. "Maybe he just wanted to see whether or not we'd actually show up or not, the prick…" he grits his teeth.

"Hey, Kanba's not that kind of guy, Trunks!" Kori shoots back at him. "He said he'd be here, so he'll be here!"

"Che! We'll see."

Ten minutes pass by at a snail's pace as the trio awaits the arrival of the fourth member of their party. Finally, after what feels like an eternity of waiting, the long-haired boy comes striding out of the narrow alleyways, still dressed in his school uniform, a sheepish smile gracing his face.

"Heh, looks like everyone got here before me…" he says slightly embarrassed.

"Geez, what took you so long, man?" Trunks asks, moving from his position against the wall as Kanba joins them. "And why didn't you change out of your school clothes?" The situation seems to alert Goten as if striking him somehow odd, but he says nothing.

"Well, it's a long story…" he trails off. "Let's just say…something came up. But I got here as fast as I could…just didn't have time to change, heh…" he grins a bit.

"…" Goten's expression tightens, but still he remains quiet. "…So, now that you're here…" he begins, trying to force himself off the subject. "You mind explaining this to us again?"

"Of course." He smiles, gesturing up towards the complex. "Well, as you can see, the place is still very much intact, but don't let its outer appearance fool you, nonetheless-it is still very unstable. So once we are inside, we must make certain not to set off any large disruptions or anything that could cause a shock, otherwise the entire building could come crumbling down on top of us." They are all silent for a moment, gazes lost on the towering colossus before them.

"So…" Kori starts. "This place seems awfully big…how will we know where the find the treasure? Or more importantly, how can we make sure we don't get lost or trapped somewhere?"

"Well, luckily I have a map of the entire complex…" Kanba says, rifling through his pocket and locating a slightly worn, folded up map. The other three gather around him to peer at its contents as he opens it up. "See? This is the entrance, right here…it's not the best map in the world, nor is it the most accurate, but it's better than nothing." He tucks the map back inside of his pocket. "We'd best keep in mind, however, that this WAS the headquarters of a major crime syndicate, and that any traps and the like would most likely not be divulged on a map…This building has many secrets…we still need to be extremely cautious. If you don't think you can handle it…" Just then, Kanba turns directly to Goten, as if directing the next sentence to him in particular.

"Then you might as well back out now, otherwise, you'll never survive."

The words hit Goten with the force of a Super Genki-Dama. As Kanba turns away from him, chills travel straight down Goten's spine, his body stiffening. He stands, unmoving, unblinking, his gaze still locked on Kanba's form.

"…Right…" Trunks says, a tinge of shock in his voice. Kanba smiles again, pointing towards the door.

"Well, shall we head inside?" he grins. Trunks turns to Kori.

"Last chance to back out, Kori!"

"I'm not going anywhere. Let's do this." She replies confidently. Trunks shrugs and turns to his friend, who still wears a deeply troubled expression on his normally exuberant face. His head is hung low, his fists quivering. Looking a bit closer, Trunks is shocked to see tears running down the younger boy's cheeks.

"Goten? You OK?" he asks as the other two head towards the door. No response. Trunks turns to Kanba and Kori, now standing in the doorway. "You two go on ahead. We'll catch up in a minute."

"…We'll wait for you inside." Kanba says as he and Kori step through the rusted steel door.

"Goten…" Trunks says softly, resting his hand on the other boy's shoulder and leaning in close to him. "What's the matter?"

"Trunks-kun…I…" he says, clenching his fists and speaking through tears. "I don't…understand…all of a sudden…I…" he looks up at the lavender-haired boy. "I just got so terrified…for a split second, all of a sudden…And I just froze! And then, next thing I knew…I was…crying…a-and I don't…know why…I don't know why, Trunks-kun! I just got…so scared…I just—"

He is abruptly cut off as suddenly the lavender-haired boy wraps his arms around him, hugging the other boy tightly against his body.

"T-Trunks-kun?" Goten cries, taken aback by the sudden contact of his friend.

"Goten, you're not alone…" Trunks murmurs, burying his head in the other boy's shoulder. "You don't have anything to be afraid of, so long as I'm by your side…"

"Trunks-kun…T…thank you…" Goten smiles, wiping the tears from his eyes as Trunks pulls away from him. "I don't know what I did to deserve a friend like you…"

"You didn't do anything to deserve me, Goten." He smiles. "I've always been here for you, and I always will be. You don't have to be afraid."

"…"

"Now come on." He says, ushering the younger boy towards the door. "Whatever challenges lie inside, we'll face 'em down together. Are you with me?" Goten smiles, his eyes narrowing into a confident glare.

"…Of course I am. Let's go."

And with that, the boys step through the darkened doorway to join their friends, fearless for whatever obstacles should lie in their way.

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"So, this is the infamous Lost Complex, huh?" Trunks says smugly as they step through the dark doorway. "Gotta say, I expected it to be a lot NICER…" he mutters sarcastically, kicking a dusty can out of his way.

"Wow, for a place that was burned to the ground a few years ago, the inside seems to be relatively intact…" Kori muses, pacing the floor and glancing around. Kanba turns to the other three, pausing for a moment.

"Now, now, that doesn't change the fact that we have to watch our steps. Regardless of how it appears, this place is infact very dangerous and unstable…" his gaze falls to Goten, and a small smile cracks his lips. "After all, things aren't always what they first appear to be…"

This comment alerts the dark-haired boy, but as before, he says nothing, only scowls and keeps moving, sticking close to Trunks. The lavender-haired boy seems to take notice of this, taking care to stay in front of his younger friend; an unneeded protection that gave Goten comfort nonetheless.

"Well, that's no problem…" Trunks says softly, gesturing towards Kanba slightly. "But you've got the map to this place, right? Do we at least know where it is we're going?" Kanba nods and pulls out the map, unfolding it once again.

"Well, more likely than not based on the structure of this building the treasure, if any, would be stored somewhere near the top of the tower. See?" he says, pointing to the area on the chart. "So, I'd say that our 'goal' if you will would be the top of this tower."

"Sheesh, the WAY top!" Kori exclaims in surprise. "Sheesh, this place has to be about ten stories high!"

"Yes, well…" Kanba trails off. "I'm certain that there must be certain shortcuts and the like…other means of getting to the top than that which appears…"

Just then, he folds up the map suddenly and tucks it back inside his pocket, much to the confusion of the other three. Turning to face them all, he smiles and gestures forward, in the direction of the stairs before the corridor inside.

"Shall we go on?" he says innocently. At somewhat of a loss for words, the other three look to one another, then back to Kanba and nod. With that said, he smiles and they begin to move forward once more.

No sooner than the other three pairs of feet step out from the doorway does the door slam shut, cast-iron bars falling across the former entryway. Save for Kanba, each member of the group spins back towards the scene in surprise.

"W…What the Hell!" Trunks screams, grasping the bars with both hands. "What the Hell just happened!" As Trunks begins to yank at the bars with all his might, Goten and Kori move to aid him. Kanba just stands unmoving from his previous position, forging a grin that goes unnoticed to everyone.

"Dammit, it won't budge!" Trunks grits his teeth and curses, giving up and releasing his futile grip on the sealed exit. "We're trapped. We can't get out."

"Well, when you think of it that way…" Kanba breaks in, maintaining his usual calm tone. "What reason do you have to use that doorway in the first place?" The other three cast the long-haired boy a suspicious look as he goes on. "After all…you entered this complex for the purpose of proceeding to the top…just because the doorway is closed off now, does that mean you would suddenly turn on your goal in favor of retreating?"

"…What…are you saying?" this time, it is Goten who finally speaks up, his curiosity over the other boy's suspicious behavior finally getting the better of him.

"Well…" Kanba goes on. "Why should it be that just because you CAN'T exit that all of a sudden you feel the NEED to? You had no intention of turning back before, did you? So that door is of no use to you. Just continue to move forward as you had planned to from the beginning. Just because one thing has changed about the situation…does it give you reason to believe…" he turns to Goten, locking eyes with the dark-haired boy. "…you can't succeed?"

Goten freezes, his blood turning to ice under the smoldering stare of the long-haired boy. He feels as if all of a sudden he can't move; as if he has been pushed into an endless chasm and can do nothing but fall, and continue falling until reaching an end…not knowing whether or not there is one to begin with. Thankfully, a touch on his shoulder manages to bring him back from his reverie, saving him from his certain mental death. He shakes his head rapidly, turning to see Trunks standing beside him, hand on his shoulder. He glares at Kanba fiercely, showing a side to himself he rarely releases without good reason. In this case, coming to the defense of his best friend.

"Hey, we never said we had any intention of giving up!" he grits out through clenched teeth, hand still holding fast to Goten. "It was a bit surprising, nothing else. Right, Goten?" he asks confidently, looking down at his friend whose eyes are still hazed over from the shock of his impromptu dream. At the sound of his friend's voice, Goten comes to.

"Goten." Trunks asks again.

"R…Right!" he says quickly, nodding and trying to shake free his confusion.

"That's right." Trunks smiles, patting Goten's shoulder before removing his hand and forming a fist. "We don't back down from ANY challenge, so you just watch us! We don't even need that MAP of yours to get out of here! Come on, Goten!" he calls to the other boy, walking ahead into the complex. Goten nods and follows closely behind.

Kanba can only grin and watch the spectacle as Kori looks on from the distance, not quite certain what to make of all the perplexing events.

"Hey, Kori!" Trunks yells back, taking the girl by surprise. "Are you coming or not?"

"Er, what?" she asks confused. "Oh, right!" she says, running over to the two. She pauses a moment, looking back to Kanba who hasn't moved from his place since they entered the Complex.

"Hey…Kanba-kun…" she says, trying to hide a shaking in her voice. "Aren't you…coming with us?"

"Don't worry about him, Kori!" Trunks shouts back, clearly still a bit upset at Kanba for the way he made Goten panic. "He's got the map, he'll catch up." He moves towards a nearby wall, pressing a hand against the cool concrete. "Hey, Goten, check this out."

"What is it, Trunks-kun?" Goten asks, approaching the wall as well. "Whoa…"

The wall is lined from top to bottom with all manner of weapons, from medieval European and Japanese ones to more modern implements like machine guns and rifles. The boys stand on either side of it, gaping in awe at the sheer volume of destructive power in one place.

"Man, they weren't kidding when they said this was a crime headquarters…" Goten mumbles. "It's amazing how all these things survived that fire, huh Trunks-k—" he is cut off as he glances over at Trunks reaching a hand out to touch something on the wall.

"WHA-! Trunks-kun, don't TOU—"

"Huh?" he interjects, before a loud rumbling noise erupts and draws their attention away. Suddenly, the floor beneath the boys and Kori opens up, sending the trio hurdling through the gaping pitfall into the unknown reaches below.

As they spiral downwards amidst the blackness and the crumbling debris, Kanba looks down through the hole in the floor, a faint grin visible on his face.

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"W…what just happened?"

Recovering from such a long fall, the three get to their feet, dusting themselves off and looking at their new surroundings cautiously.

"I…don't know…" muses Goten, looking around on either side before stopping, his gaze hardening on Trunks. "But wherever we are, it's YOUR fault!"

"What!" Trunks exclaims. "ME!"

"Yeah! You're the one who had to touch the wall and open up that trap door, Dammit!"

"Well, then, if it's ANYONE'S fault it's YOURS!"

"What! What the Hell kind of logic is THAT!"

"Well…YOU should have STOPPED me!"

"ME! You heard what Kanba said when we came in here! BE CAREFUL! DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING! THERE COULD BE TRAPS ANYWHERE!"

"Well, then…" Trunks fumbles, struggling to place the blame on someone other than himself. "Then it's KANBA'S fault!"

"Trunks-kun, you're such a—" Goten pauses, noticing Kori out of the corner of his eye and realizing they have ignored her amidst all the arguing. "Hey, Kori-chan, what're you doin'?" he asks quizzically as she pokes around the stone walls.

"Kanba…" she mutters, turning her gaze to Goten and Trunks. "Didn't you guys notice yet?" she asks them both. There is silence for a moment as it finally dawns on the boys.

"Hey, you're right…" Trunks notes. "Kanba's not here…where'd he go?"

"Well, now that you mention it, he wasn't standing near the three of us when that part of the floor collapsed…" Kori realizes. "He must still be on the upper level…"

_Convenient enough…_Goten thinks to himself, sizing up the current predicament in his head. _Just happened to get separated from the rest of us…just what are you up to, Kanba?_

"Well," Trunks speaks up, breaking through Goten's thoughts. "No matter how you look at it, we're all trying to get to the top...I say we keep moving."

"But wait, though, he SAW us all fall, right?" Kori asks. "So he's sure to come down for us…shouldn't we just stay put?"

"Well, that's a good point…" Trunks considers.

"No, we should keep moving." Goten adds dryly. The other two look at him. "Think about it. We fell a LONG way. It would take Kanba-kun a while to find a safe way down to us…I mean, short of him jumping down the hole in the floor, which I don't think would be very smart…He probably figures that we've already come to that conclusion, and is going to keep going, assuming we'll do the same." The other two stare at him in a mixture of astonishment and utter shock at the level of clarity in what Goten is saying.

"Wow…Goten…" Kori mutters.

"Yeah, since when did YOU get so smart?" Trunks says sarcastically; a remark which Goten just laughs off and continues his musings.

"Yeah, well, seriously…We should keep going ahead to the top, like we originally planned. More likely than not, we'll run into him on the way, since we're all goin' the same direction…"

"Well, that makes sense…" Kori says softly. "But he's got the only map! How do we know which way we're going?"

"Well, we really DON'T…" Goten answers. "We'll just have ta wing it, I guess…I mean, up is still UP, so as long as we keep goin' up…and be CAREFUL OF TRAPS…" he glares at Trunks as he stresses the last part. "…we should be able to get far enough without the map that at least we can hope to meet up with Kanba-kun eventually."

_We can't tell Kori-chan, but as long as me an' Trunks-kun can keep a constant reading on Kanba's energy signal, we'll know we're going the right way…_

"Man, treasure or not, I wonder if this whole trip was really worth it…" Trunks mumbles. Goten shakes his head silently to himself, but it goes unnoticed to Trunks and Kori.

_No…whatever reason it is Kanba had for bringing us here, I'm pretty sure it wasn't treasure…he's got something planned, something he needs me an' Trunks-kun for…I just wish that I knew what that something WAS…_

Goten shakes his head, straightening himself up and stretching his arms behind his head. He grins, stepping out in front of his friends and pointing up ahead.

"Well, let's get going."

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"Well, that seemed to have gone well enough…"

Elsewhere, in the shadowed abyss that is Lost Complex, a tall figure stands, arms folded, grimacing. Kanba remains in his previous position, overlooking the gaping hole in the floor through which his fellow classmates fell only moments prior. He smiles inwardly, stepping away and approaching the seemingly dead-ended wall. He closes his eyes in deep thought, touching a hand to his chest and running it underneath his blazer, grasping tightly to the chain around his neck. Sparks of electricity crackle around him as he presses his other palm against the solid wall, and, miraculously, an entrance is created. He steps through the glowing almost vortex and releases the chain, the wall sealing up seamlessly as if nothing had taken place.

"There…" he says softly. "That little fall back there was unexpected, but it actually did a lot of the work for me…they should be busy trying to find their way back up for a while, at least…no doubt they've decided to keep going until they run into me, as luckily enough, I have the only map…"

He smiles to himself, once again pulling the map from his pocket. After glancing at it fondly for a moment, he takes it between both hands and tears it to shreds. Scattering the tattered paper into the air, he aims his right hand, extending his index and pinky fingers towards the debris. The chain bracelet barely visible under the thick cuffs of his school uniform sparks like the necklace before it and a jolt of lighting shoots forth from the extended fingers, vaporizing all traces of the former map. Kanba tosses his hair, seeming rather pleased with himself.

"Good…now all that's left is to get in uniform…" he says, unbuttoning his blazer before removing it completely. Not wearing a shirt beneath it, Kanba's upper body is clearly visible now, as well as several striking details. From the shoulder down, Kanba's entire right arm is tightly wound in bandages. A scar is etched into the shoulder of his left arm, to which the chain bracelet hangs around the wrist. The thick golden chain around his neck glitters, the pendant attached to the base with the character "Rai" for thunder now plainly visible. He continues to undress himself until he is standing in only his boxers…And there, wrapped around his bare waist…

"Sheesh, that stuffy school uniform is so uncomfortable…I don't know how those guys handle it…" he says, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Well, it must be easier for them, since they don't seem to even HAVE their tails anymore, for whatever reason…"

Unfurling from its resting place wrapped around Kanba's waist is a long, prehensile tail, now comfortably able to hang freely.

"There we go!" he smiles, wagging his tail playfully. "Keeping you hidden sure has been a pain, but unfortunately, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cover you right back up, so enjoy your little stretch!" he says gleefully, taking advantage of his short rest. "Well, that felt good, but it's about time I got going, now…"

He sighs deeply, extending a palm towards his neatly folded uniform. In a manner quite similar to Piccolo's classic trick, he emits a wave and transforms the school uniform into the large cloak-like outfit he wore the night he and Goten first battled. He pulls the newly-formed garment over his head, effectively concealing his outward appearance.

"Well, I wish I could say a physical disguise was good enough…" he sighs. "Well, as long as I can manage to mask my energy signal…at least for the duration that we're in here…"

He hovers off the ground a bit, moving so that he can touch his hand to the ceiling. Much in the same way as with the wall earlier, he creates an opening and slips through, conveniently short-cutting his journey through the complex.

"Let's just hope that this all plays out… Son of the Saiyajin Prince Vegeta, son of the Super Saiyajin of legend Son Gokou…let's hope that those boys will prove to be strong enough to get past this…Because if they aren't…we're all in grave danger…"

Pushing past cobweb-filled dungeons laden with thick dust coatings, the trio of Goten, Trunks and Kori continue to push on, carefully making their way back to the first floor of the complex. Without warning, Goten and Trunks sneeze, shaking it off completely unaware as to the goings-on just outside the complex…

-END OF CHAPTER 6-


	8. Chapter 7

Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Chapter 7

"A Big Slip-up! Kori Discovers The Truth"

Notes-

Alright, Chapter 7 time! Yeah! Interesting note this time around? Well, as I think I've covered in my notes sections to this point, I've been doing IGNO for the past 2 years now, which is why many of you are wondering why you hadn't heard of it until recently. Well, of course, IGNO was largely secretive, known only to my closest friends and myself, because honestly, I didn't think anyone else would be interested in reading it. While in my head and in my pages upon pages of handwritten chapter scripts and outlines, IGNO has reached slightly past the first major arc (which I will note has not yet started in the version you're all reading XD), but as far as typed, final versions of the chapters…I never made it past chapter 7. Never. This is the absolute furthest chapter that ANYONE has ever read of IGNO-even my creative consultants on the project who know all the inside secrets (IE, my friends Yonk (he's on check out his stuff!), Stephen and Brad) haven't actually READ past chapter 7. So this is quite the achievement…chapter 7 sets the stage for the opener of the first major saga, which I know you have all been anticipating, wondering when the true Dragonball-style action is gonna start in this crazy story…the answer, my friends, is soon. Very soon. Seriously, the first major arc starts neatly in chapter 10, so you won't have to wait much longer, I promise! …Unless you count the time you wait as I slack and put off writing the next chapters…dies Um, OK. So. What else…oh, anyone ever play The Legend of Zelda series of games before? Well, if you don't know, I'm OBSESSED…and a literal MASTER of Zelda, seriously. We won't get into THAT now (that or how I've been on a particularly obsessed kick all week), but you'll also notice in this chapter that a variety of puzzles and situations may or may not be inspired by the amazing franchise…and by that I mean they are. nods So, without further ado…enjoy!

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman 6/22/06

Wind rushes past, adding a striking chill to the already cold night. The surrounding area of the slums of Satan City is all but silent, and a powerful aura seems to emanate from the colossal building standing in the dead center. It almost seems as though the very air itself is afraid to come too close to that dreaded building known only as "The Lost Complex"…

"Whew…finally back where we started!"

Though few know of the whereabouts of the complex, and even fewer dare to enter, there are the occasional fools who will test their luck and venture inside…and, currently, the most recent group is…

"Don't act so RELIEVED, Trunks!" Kori barks at the lavender-haired boy as they finally arrive back at the first floor of the building. "If it weren't for YOU, we would already be UP from this floor, and we'd know where KANBA-KUN is!" He pouts as she tosses him a glare.

"Feh, whatever…" he grumbles. "Let's just keep going up and stop dwelling on the past…what's done is done, y'know?"

"Trunks-kun is right, Kori-chan." Goten remarks to the girl. "We need to stop arguing and start working together to get to the top. I'm sure Kanba-kun'll be waiting for us when we get there, anyways."

"…Alright…" she sighs. "I guess it makes sense when you say it, Goten-kun."

"OK, then!" Trunks shouts, stepping in front of the other two and confidently holding a fist high in the air. "It's decided, then! We're gonna keep moving up until we find Kanba, and GET that treasure!" He grins excitedly, marching forward in the direction of the stairs before feeling Goten tug at his arm.

"Um…Goten?" he says sheepishly, a sweatdrop forming on his face. "You're ruining my dramatic confidence, here…"

"Sorry Trunks-kun, but can I…um…" he fumbles over his words. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, what's up?" he says, confused as he notes Goten gazing curiously in Kori's direction.

"Um…over here, in private?" he whispers, drawing Kori's attention with a confused glance. He waves at her reassuringly. "Oh, don't worry Kori-chan, I just have to talk to Trunks-kun about somethin' real quick. It's not a big deal, I swear!" he smiles, leading Trunks away fro m her to the corner of the room.

"What's the deal, Goten?" Trunks asks. "What's so important that we can't discuss in front of Kori?"

"Trunks-kun…" Goten says, a serious tone to his voice. "Have you noticed anything weird? Since about the time we got back on the main floor?"

"…Like what?" Trunks asks, unsure where his long-time friend is headed with his inquiries.

"About Kanba…just a little bit before we got out of the basement…" he goes on. "Remember, we had been following his Ki signal to try and point us to the way back up, but then…it seemed that, just about the time we were sure where we were going…well…" he looks up at Trunks. "Try to feel his Ki, right now." He nudges him.

"OK…" Trunks says, his eyes narrowing as he focuses his concentration on his sixth sense and the ability to feel the missing boy's energy signal. All of a sudden, his head snaps up and he looks at Goten, shocked. "It's…it's gone! I can't feel Kanba's Ki anywhere, in this entire building!"

"Exactly!" Goten exclaims. "It's as if it disappeared COMPLETELY!"

"But…we were following it a minute ago…how…"

"I don't really know…and I don't know what it means, either, but it CAN'T be good!"

"…You're right…" Trunks glances around for a second before suddenly dashing over to the stairs.

"Wha—! Trunks-kun!" Goten shouts, running up the stairs after his best friend. "What are you DOIN'!" Trunks stops and turns, facing down Goten.

"Come on, Goten! We have to hurry! Kanba could be in trouble!"

"Trouble? Wha…no, that's not what I—" he is cut off as Trunks hollers down to Kori at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at the boys with confusion.

"Hey, Kori! Come on, we gotta hurry!" she nods, getting the idea and running to catch up as they all begin to ascend the massive staircase.

_Trunks-kun, you've got it all wrong…_Goten thinks to himself. _WE'RE the ones who could be in trouble…_

_­_As the trio vanishes up the winding stairwell, a shadow permeates the ceiling high above as Kanba hovers, just out of sight, keeping a close watch on his fellow classmates.

"Heh, you're not far off at all, Son Goten…" he grins. "Keep running…because if you don't make it to the top of those stairs soon, well…" his expression tightens, becoming much more foreboding. "We're ALL going to be in a world of trouble…"

He shakes his head solemnly before once again phasing through the upper ceiling into the room above, keeping his distance one step ahead of the others at all times.

"Huh?" Goten pauses and glances upward.

"N? What's wrong, Goten?" asks Trunks as he and Kori stop as well.

"N…nothing…" he says. "For a second, I just thought I felt—" he abruptly cuts himself off, remembering Kori is there, as well. Trunks understands his meaning, however, even if it is unclear to Kori.

"Well, come on, then, there's still hope…" he says. "Come on."

Goten and Kori nod and continue on their way up, Goten occasionally glancing up above as a strange certainty settles itself in the pit of his stomach.

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"G…Geez…" Trunks leans against the railing of the stairwell, trying desperately to catch his breath. Wiping sweat from his brow, he glances over at Goten and Kori, equally exhausted. "H…How long have we been running? It feels like we've been up about fifty flights of these stairs!"

"W…" Kori begins, trying to control her breath between panting. "Wait…I thought…that you…were keeping TRACK of how far up we'd gone!" Trunks turns, shooting her a glare with a mix of confusion and agitation.

"What? Why would I have been doing that!"

"Psh! To see how FAR up the tower we are, dumbass!" she shouts at him. They move closer, Goten looking somewhat uneasy on the sidelines as his two classmates begin another of their world class shouting matches.

"Well why weren't YOU keeping track!" Trunks tosses in. "YOU'RE the one who's so in LOVE with Kanba! If anyone should be rushing to catch up to him it's YOU!"

"Shut up, I am NOT!" she screams, trying to gloss over the blush on her face by appearing increasingly angrier. "Anyway, we'd have been WITH him this whole time if not for YOU and your dumb maneuver downstairs!"

"Why you…" Trunks begins, moving even closer and grabbing Kori by the neck of her shirt. Quickly, Goten steps in, trying to prevent the verbal war from involving fists as well.

"Guys guys!" he shouts, pushing the two apart. "This is NO time for fighting!" They both look at him, someone irritated to have their argument interrupted. "How do you expect us to find a way to the top of this tower if you two are gonna be at each other's throats every five minutes!"

"Yeah, but…" Trunks stammers, pointing a shaky finger at Kori. "SHE'S the one who started it!"

"Oh shut up, Trunks!" she yells back.

"BOTH of you shut up!" Goten screams, taking a tone not usual for someone as reserved as he generally is. "We need to work as a TEAM if we want to find Kanba!"

They are all quiet for a few moments, slightly taken aback by Goten's sudden aggression. Trunks scratches his head, thinking over dark-haired boy's words for a moment before speaking up again.

"…You're right…" he sighs. "Goten's right, Kori. We can't keep arguing like this if we want to have any hopes of finding Kanba…let ALONE getting out of here."

"…Alright, fine…" she says, not exactly bursting with happiness. "But let's get ONE THING straight-I'm NOT doing this out of respect for you…nothing changes between us!"

"Yeah, whatever…" Trunks mutters, rolling his eyes.

"I'm just doing this for Goten-chan." She says, smiling at the younger boy.

"Thanks, Kori-chan." He smiles back, turning his gaze to Trunks. "And you too, Trunks-kun."

"Yeah, whatever…don't get the wrong idea, I mean, I still hate YOUR guts, too…" he says, glaring up at Kori before turning back to Goten. "But, I can't say no to you." He smiles.

"Thanks, Trunks-kun."

"But YOU!" he says, folding his arms and stepping closer to the girl. "The second…and I mean the SECOND we get out of here-we're SETTLING this!"

"Anytime, pal." She grins, cracking her knuckles. "Of course, I've never LOST to you before, so forgive my confidence." Trunks glares again, looking ready to jump on Kori before Goten tugs at his arm, reminding him of their promise. He nods silently, sighing deeply.

"Whatever…anyway…So, what, we just keep going up?" he asks, pointing up the seemingly endless staircase. "I mean, we've been at this for hours, now, and it doesn't look like it's getting us ANYWHERE…"

"Um, well…" Goten says, rubbing the back of his head and glancing around. "I hadn't really…thought about it…"

"Wait, you guys, look!" Kori exclaims, pointing up the stairs. "I think there's a room up there!"

"What? Seriously?" Trunks inquires, not putting any more thought into it than that before dashing up the stairs. Goten slaps his forehead.

"Not again, Trunks-ku—"

"You guys, check it out!" Trunks shouts down, waving at his friends. "There IS a room up here!"

"Well, look at that!" Kori says, smiling and heading up the stairs towards Trunks. Goten follows soon behind.

"Looks like we're making progress, after all!" the dark-haired boy shouts excitedly as the three end up in the doorway of a large room.

"OK, so…what now?" Trunks asks, looking to the others.

There they stand, having finished the seemingly endless stair climb, faced with a room…with nothing in it. The only exit appears to be the stairway they entered in from, and the room itself is completely empty aside from its walls and ceiling.

"Wait…" Kori ponders, meandering over to the barren wall. "Maybe there's a secret door or something? Try knocking on the walls!"

Goten and Trunks nod, each of the three manning every wall in the room aside from the one from whence they came. After several minutes of banging on the solid steel walls, however, they turn up no solutions and gather again in the room's center.

"Well, THAT didn't work…" Trunks mutters.

"Well, think, there's got to be SOMETHING!" Goten exclaims, continuing to search the room, getting down on his knees and knocking on the floor. Trunks kneels beside him, a bead of sweat forming on his face.

"Um, Goten, what are you doing?" he asks in a confused voice.

"Tryin' to find the way!"

"But…if there as a door…in the FLOOR…wouldn't it just take us back DOWN?" Goten pauses and considers the lavender-haired boy's proposition. "And…" Trunks goes on. "Aren't WE trying to go…UP?"

"Er…" a huge bead of sweat forms on Goten's face as he blushes, embarrassed. "Well, there could have been…like…a tunnel…or…" Trunks slaps his friend on the back, knocking him over. "Ow! Trunks-kun!"

"Idiot…" he says, shaking his head at his friend's pathetic attempt at reason. Still, he can't help but smile at the childish behavior of his lifelong best friend.

"Wait a minute…" Kori breaks in. "Granted, there wouldn't be anything on the FLOOR…" she trails off, pacing around the small interior of the blank chamber. "But…do you think maybe there could be something…" She stops, turning to the boys.

"…On the CEILING?"

"W…what?" Trunks asks. "But how? I mean, this room is completely empty, and the ceiling is…REALLY high…so, how could anyone even GET to it, even if there WERE something up there?"

"Well, think about it." She begins. "This place used to be the hideout of gangsters and thieves, right? Well, they wouldn't want just ANYONE breaking into their hideout, would they? So, any traps or secret exits and that stuff…the whereabouts would only be known to those already acquainted with the building…so…"

"So…" Trunks continues, picking up where she left off. Goten continues to look on, nodding along and pretending to understand where the conversation is headed. "The MEMBERS of the gangs that hang out here WOULD know how to get to an exit on the ceiling, whereas your average intruder would just see this room as a dead end!"  
"Exactly!" she nods in confirmation of Trunks' theory. "So, say the exit IS on the ceiling. There obviously WOULD be a way to get it, but it'd have to be well hidden…like, a secret switch or something…"

"Yeah, but where?" Trunks considers. "If it were something like a switch, it could be on a lower level or something…" he sinks. "Meaning we'd have to go all the way back down those endless stairs and search…"

"No, I think it would still be in THIS room…" Kori ponders, searching the room's seemingly barren interior.

"Wait, so…" Goten finally speaks up, not having moved from his prior position squatting on the floor. "So, I did good?" he inquires, having been the one to spark the ceiling conversation. Trunks smiles and pats him on the head like a dog.

"Yes, you did good, Goten." He grins. "Would you like a treat?" Goten glares, and with a **DOKAN**, Trunks is on the floor, holding a large bump on his head.

For a long while, the gang scours every inch of the chamber, trying to find anything unusual within. After almost thirty minutes of searching, Trunks collapses, exhausted that the search hasn't turned anything up yet.

"Ugh, this is HOPELESS!" he gripes. "Let's face it! If there's any kind of switch or something to get us up there, it's hidden DOWNSTAIRS, and we're gonna have to go back and LOOK for it!"

"Wait, no, Trunks-kun, I don't think so!" Goten says, pointing high up on the wall. "Look at that!" The other two approach him, looking in the direction he's indicating. There, high up on the wall, hangs a large ornamental flag.

"Yeah, but that'd be just as hard to reach as the CEILING, Goten!" Trunks notes.

"Yeah, but check this out, too!" he shouts excitedly, running over to the wall from which the flag hangs. "I noticed this while we were lookin' for stuff!" he bangs on the wall, raising curious glances from Kori and Trunks.

"Goten, we already TRIED that…" Trunks says exasperatedly.

"Yeah, I know, but try it just on THIS part of the wall, here, under the flag!" they shrug, but oblige, knocking on that area of the wall. Instantly, their eyes widen, and they look to the dark-haired boy.

"This…" Trunks trails off.

"Studs!" Kori shouts, tapping the wall a few more times in succession.

"Right!" Goten nods. "At first glance this just looks like the same design as the rest of the all, but there're small studs here that could be used to climb up and reach the flag!"

"So, what, you think the flag is the switch to open the door in the ceiling?" Kori asks.

"You never know!" Goten replies, moving to start climbing the wall. "The only way to find out is to go up there an' try it!" He begins to climb, only to lose his footing on the small studs and fall back to the floor. "Ow…" he mutters, rubbing his head painfully.

"Man, don't bother, Goten! I'll handle this!" Trunks yells, raising an open palm towards the wall hanging. Without warning, he produces a small energy blast and succeeds at setting the cloth on fire, burning it away to reveal a small depression in the wall. Trunks grins as Goten leaps up and down excitedly.

"Alright, Trunks-kun! You DID it!" he exclaims. Trunks laughs, raising a hand to brush a lock of hair from his face.

"Well, what do you expect?" he boasts, quite proud of his clever solution.

"OK, well, we've still gotta climb up there an' hit the switch, but at least now we know that we were right all along, and we CAN get out of here…" he turns to Kori. "Ready, Kori-cha—" Goten cocks his head to the side, looking at the girl curiously. "Kori-chan?"

Trunks turns to Kori as well, and both boys are taken aside by the expression on her face. Kori looks terrified, her face sheened in sweat and her entire body trembling.

"What's wrong, Kori?" Trunks asks, an unusual air of concern in his voice for the girl who is apparently his arch rival.

"He…he…" she stammers, raising a shaky finger to point at Trunks. "HE'S A WITCH!" she screams, stepping further back from the lavender-haired boy.

"What?" Trunks raises an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you talki—"

"Oh-no, Trunks-kun! The flag!" Goten yells, noting that Trunks' hand is still raised towards the newly-revealed switch. Panicking, Goten leaps onto his friend, pushing his arm down and dragging him to the corner of the room.

"Ow!" Trunks gasps. "What's the big idea, Goten!"

"Trunks-kun, you IDIOT!" Goten yells, bonking his best friend on the head.

"OW!" he shouts, glaring angrily at the younger boy. "What the HELL!"

"You burned that flag with KI, Trunks-kun!" he scolds the boy in a loud whisper. "In front of an ORDINARY HUMAN!"

"Oh, crap…" Trunks mutters, cupping a hand over his mouth as the realization hits him.

"No WONDER Kori-chan looked so freaked! She just saw you shoot a beam of energy out of the palm of your HAND!"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking!"

"Damn RIGHT you weren't thinking!" Goten screams, having a hard time keeping his voice low. "I can't BELIEVE this! All those years of concealing our powers, down the drain! Having to walk to school instead of fly, holding back our power in gym class, EVERYTHING! All RUINED because you were feeling too LAZY to just climb up the Damn wall!"

"Well what do you want me to do NOW, huh!" Trunks shouts back, his voice rising as well. "It's a little late, don't you think? I mean, she already SAW me do it, it's not like I can take it back or DENY it or something!"

"So, what! Are you saying we should just TELL her!"

"Why not? She's just one person…"

"That's enough!" Goten shouts at the top of his lungs. "What if she told someone, and that person told someone else! What if it went on and on and got out of control until EVERYONE found out! Do you have any idea what would HAPPEN! I mean, we got LUCKY that Mr. Satan took credit for the Cell Game all those years ago, and got people to believe that the stuff our dads did in those videos were just 'magic tricks'! We got LUCKY that we were able to get Shenlong to erase everyone's memories of Majin Buu! And we're LUCKY that no one remembers my brother was the Great Saiyaman! We were LUCKY all those times! Coming out and telling someone that all that stuff was real AFTER ALL would ruin ALL of that!"

"I…I…" Trunks stammers, realizing the fault he's at.

"So what are we supposed to do now! Come up with some way to deny all of that?"

"There's no need." At the sound of the voice, Goten and Trunks turn to see Kori standing over them. Goten glances at Trunks, whispering in a low voice.

"Did she…hear me say all that…just now?"

"Nice going." Trunks glares at him. "And here you're making ME sound like the idiot."

"Well well well…" Kori muses, folding her arms across her chest and looking down at the boys. "That sure was interesting…"

"Um, listen, K-K-Kori-chan, all that stuff I s-s-s-said just now…that was just…uh…" Goten stutters, trying to create a last-minute excuse for their situation.

"So, if what you guys just said is true…" she murmurs. "Then…" she looks specifically to Goten. "Your brother…was he REALLY the Great Saiyaman?"

"…Um…well…yeah…" he says softly, ashamed that he made the situation even worse than Trunks had.

"And all that stuff about the Cell Game…I mean, that happened before I was born, but I've seen the videos of the fight…they show them every year on Satan Day to commemorate the "hero"…so…those guys who are on the sidelines in those tapes…were they really your fathers?"

"…Yes." Trunks says softly. "Both my father and Goten's father fought Cell…and it was Goten's older brother who really beat him...NOT Mr. Satan."

"So, the stuff shown in those videos WEREN'T just magic tricks."

"No, Kori-chan, they weren't…" Goten sighs. "we really DO have powers."

"I don't believe this…" she whispers in amazement. The boys bow their heads in shame, fearing the worst…only to be surprised when Kori exclaims, "This is AWESOME!"

"H…huh!" the boys simultaneously blink in surprise. "A…awesome?"

"Are you KIDDING! This is INCREDIBLE!"

"You mean…you're not SCARED?" Goten asks warily.

"Of COURSE not!" she laughs. "Why would I be SCARED? Two boys from MY class actually have SUPERPOWERS! I can't wait to TELL people about this!" At the sound of her words, Trunks stands abruptly, grabbing the girl tightly by the shoulders.

"Whoa whoa WHOA, now, Kori!" he laughs nervously. "Don't get the wrong idea, here! I mean, this isn't exactly the kind of information we want getting around school!"

"But…this is HUGE!" she shouts. "I can't keep something like THIS a secret!" A bit frightened, now, Goten stands as well, standing beside Trunks in front of Kori.

"No! Trunks-kun is right, Kori-chan! You can't tell ANYONE about this!" he shouts worriedly. "If word got out that me an' Trunks-kun can DO stuff like this, all KINDS of bad stuff could happen!"

"But…"

"PLEASE, Kori-chan!" Goten begs, clasping his hands together. "PROMISE me you won't tell anyone about this!" She is silent for a moment, thinking the boy's proposal over. She sighs, nodding her head solemnly.

"Alright. I won't tell anyone about your powers, Goten-kun." She says, smiling. Then, she cocks an eyebrow, looking to the other boy with a glint in her eye. "Buuut…if Trunks-kun wants me to keep HIS powers a secret…" she grins.

"What!" Trunks shouts angrily. "Are you saying you'll protect Goten but not ME!"

"Well why SHOULDN'T I? I mean, what do I owe someone like YOU!" Trunks rubs his forehead and sighs.

"Fine…what do you want?"

"You have to pay me."

"You CAN'T be serious." She nods. "You're going to make me PAY you! How much!"

"1,000 Zeni."

"…Fine."

"A week."

"WHAT! No way in HELL!"

"Oh come on. Your family's rich! It should be no problem for someone like you."

"YOUR family's rich, too!"

"Yeah, my FAMILY. Not me." She closes her eyes and nods. "1,000 Zeni a week. Otherwise…" Trunks looks on puzzledly as she raises her hand to her ear as if it were a cell phone, speaking into it. "What's that? Oh, hey, Mitsuki-chan."

"M-M-Mitsuki! She's the biggest gossip in school!" Trunks bursts out.

"Hm? Briefs? Oh, who, Trunks? Yeah, I know him. Uh-huh. He's in my history class."

"Ugh…" Trunks grits his teeth at the pathetic display.

"Oh, you want to go out with him? Well, I don't know…I mean, he's a TOTAL player, he'd probably dump you in a week…of course…you COULD blackmail him…" Trunks swallows hard as she goes on with the imaginary conversation. "Oh, well, it just so happens that I have JUST the perfect info! You see, Trunks has—"

"Alright alright ALRIGHT!" he screams, waving his hands back and forth in a frenzy. "I get it! I'll pay you, just PLEASE, DON'T tell anyone! ESPECIALLY Mitsuki." Kori grins, lowering her hand.

"You've got yourself a deal, pretty boy."

"OK, um…" Goten speaks up. "Can we get back to getting out of here, now?"

"Oh, right." Trunks nods."

"OK, I'll go hit the switch…" Goten says, moving to climb the wall. Without warning, Trunks pushes him aside.

"Huh? Trunks-kun?"

"Forget it, that'll take forever. Come on." He says, hovering up to the wall and effortlessly pushing the switch. As suspected, a trap door opens up in the ceiling.

"Trunks-kun!"

"Chill, Goten, she already knows." He says, floating back down and grabbing Kori by the arm. "Now come on, this way's much quicker." Goten signs, resigning himself and floating up after his friend.

"Alright, then…"

As they reach the top, Trunks sets Kori down inside the upper room and the boys land, taking a quick scan of the area around them. They both laugh ironically.

"More stairs, then. Come on, let's get moving." Goten and Kori nod, and the trio continues to move forward. As they exit the room and head up another winding spiral staircase, Kanba once again materializes through the roof, keeping his shadowy watch on his classmates.

"Well I'll be…" he says, somewhat surprised. "They actually managed to pull together as a team and find the way out, good…" he smiles, pulling the hood of his cloak down over his face.

"Alright, guys. Time for the final test." He says, his voice tightening. "Let's see what your teamwork can do."

-END OF CHAPTER 7-


	9. Chapter 8

Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Chapter 8

"Rematch! The Mysterious Boy Resurfaces"

Notes-

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH! Forgive my excitement, but, as I mentioned in the notes for Chapter 7, I've never gotten past a typed, finalized version of chapter 7. Meaning that, aside from my outlines and etc (which still only go up to about chapter 30 or so), this is the VERY FIRST TIME Chapter 8 has seen the light of day in full, written form. And since I do my notes before I start writing, I may as well tell you now, I am going to begin writing chapter 8 right now…off the top of my head. Seriously. Save the outline, and what I KNOW happens in it…well, I guess I've been doing this since like chapter 5, so, um, yeah. Just to let you all know what a wonderfully "professional" author I am. (sarcastic) But, still, things are about to get REALLY exciting, folks! All the action and violence and drama you've been waiting for from a Dragonball fic is coming VEEEERY soon, and this chapter just starts to set the stage for that climactic action of EPIC PROPORTIONS…Heh, I bet you can't wait to start reading it…well, too bad, because I have more notes to rant about, Dammit, so you WILL sit your ass down and finish reading THIS before you get to the chapter! Anyways, another fun thing to note is that I just got chapter 7 finished and up two days ago…normally this would be the grace period between chapters where I would relax and take a break…a long, relaxing, two-month break… ;; But since that is sadly TRUE, and that IS what I would have ended up doing…since that's what happened in the "grace period" between chapter 6 and 7…so, as a preventative method-to PREVENT me from doing that-I am getting a jump on writing chapter 8 now. And…I will probably write chapter 9 right after that. Then 10. So all you annoying readers who keep messaging me and telling me (cough cough FORCING ME) to hurry up and write more…well, you'll be happy, because you're getting a good 4 chapters in very short intervals of one another. BUT THAT'S IT! After chapter 10, I am taking a GOOD break, man! …A break that will probably just involve IGNO art and other crap (which I've been working on all week…anyone go to my DeviantArt page at all?)…Dammit, at what point did this fanfic begin to rule my life! And at one point did my notes sections get so frickin' huge! …Anyways…enjoy the story.

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman 6/26/06

"This looks like the place, alright."

The dead of night in the slums of Satan City…the thick darkness that blankets the rest of the city only seems to be intensified as it smothers the area where the infamous Lost Complex stands, permeating the air with an evil aura. Even the most pitiful lowlife thugs seem to sense it, taking it as a sign to steer clear and keep a good distance from the despicably reputed tower; a place where none are brave enough to set foot. Only fools, it has been said, and none who enter ever leave alive...

And yet, at such a strange time as this, it seems that Son Goten and company are not the only "fools" in town…

"Lhino, are you sure you're looking at that map right?" whispers a mysterious voice. Clouded in the shadows, it is impossible to see more than the faint silhouettes of

the speakers. They are what is apparently a group of 15 or so, seeming to all be dressed in similar clothing; large concealing cloaks. Even without the darkness, it seems, not much could be seen of the mysterious crowd.

"Of course I am!" the addressed responds somewhat agitatedly. "It said Satan City, east slum sector. I'm pretty sure that's where we are, if I'm reading this thing right..."

"'PRETTY SURE'!" the second voice shouts back, snatching the map from the other's hands. "Give me that, numbskull!"

"Well, it's dark, Turcoon!"

"That's why **I** should have had the map all along! Unlike the rest of you pathetic

fools, I can see just FINE in these conditions!" he grits through clenched teeth, his voice vibrating in a half-purr as he studies the map in his hands. "Hmm…well, I guess we ARE in the right place…" he submits rather unenthusiastically. The other folds his arms and snarls a bit at him.

"Told ya."

"What's going on up there?" a third voice shouts from the back. "You know, it sure would be nice if the REST of us got to take a look at the map!"

"Shut up!" bellows the one called Turcoon to the speaker in the back. "We've just run into a bit of a snag, that's all!"

"What's the problem?" a fourth voice asks.

"We're in the right PLACE, but this map doesn't do a very good job of telling us what BUILDING we're looking for!" the first speaker, Lhino, responds.

"Well that's easy, let me handle it!" the fourth voice offers. Turcoon nods.

"That's a good idea, Bolf…you're JUST the one to do it, too, considering you can sense things the rest of us can't see."

"No problem, just give me a minute…" says Bolf, suddenly unfurling somewhat small wings and taking to the sky above the others.

He conducts his airborne search through what appears to be some sort of sonar, using sound waves rather than vision to find a path through the darkness. After a moment, he turns back to the crowd of his fellows, hovering just in front of a towering structure.

"Hey, guys, I found it!" he shouts back, waving a wing through the air to beckon the others. "Over here, come on!"

"Perfect!" says Turcoon, looking back at those behind him. "Everyone, follow me! Since I can see Bolf, now, I'll lead the way!" the others nod and begin moving forward, following Turcoon's lead.

As they get closer and closer, it becomes somewhat easier to see between the faint glow of the streetlights and the moon, no longer obscured by the other massive buildings. Turcoon grins, his sharp pointed teeth the only thing visible under the hood of his cloak. He turns to the figure beside him, addressing him as a higher authority figure.

"Things seem to be looking up for us already, don't they, Kotaroh-sama?" he asks the larger one. The one apparently named Kotaroh remains silent, however, continuing to look ahead as they walk towards the beckoning Bolf. "I mean, that is to say…" Turcoon stammers, a low animalistic growl emitting itself from Kotaroh's throat as he speaks. "After all these years, we've finally tracked that deserter to this planet, and we even have good reason to suspect he's in this—" he is apparently cut off as Kotaroh turns to face him, growling noticeably louder, clearly trying to make the point that he does not wish to be spoken to. "Y-y-yes, of course, Kotaroh-sama…I'll…shut up now…" he flushes, keeping silent for the duration of the trek.

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"M…man…"

Trunks pants heavily, bracing himself on the side railing of the stairwell. His face is sheened with sweat, having been running non-stop for nearly an hour up another winding flight of stairs. He struggles to catch his breath, noticing his two friends beside him aren't doing much better themselves.

"D…Dammit…" he curses under his breath, or with what little breath he can summon. "Who in their right mind DESIGNED this place? I mean, come on! Stairs, stairs, STAIRS! That's all this place IS! Not much of a hideout if you ask…me…" he pauses, the shouting exhausting him further. As he suddenly begins to collapse, Goten, still trying to catch his own breath, leaps over to his friend to catch him at the last second before he goes barreling straight back down the steps.

"Are you alright, Trunks-kun?" he asks, worry in his voice.

"Y…yeah, I'm fine…" he manages, wiping sweat from his brow. "Thanks, Goten…" he says, smiling at his friend before moving to support himself.

"Don't…mention it…" Goten huffs, laughing a little. "Man, I can't believe STAIRS took this much out of US…" Trunks laughs breathlessly at the comment as well.

Goten takes the time to think about the current situation. Trapped inside the Lost Complex, with Kanba, the one who led them into this mess in the first place, nowhere to be found. In addition to all of that, due to a slip-up, he and Trunks had to reveal their powers to Kori...or rather, explain themselves, as she caught them in the act of using them. Goten laughs a little at the thought, thankful that he and Trunks hadn't done something even MORE revealing, like become Super Saiyajin. All and all, he had promised his father that he'd never reveal that power to anyone…and yet, a promise he has already broken that night when he was ambushed, and revealed the ability that perhaps made his father into even MORE of a danger magnet than he had always been. Still, they lucked out. Goten smiles at his best friend, certain that he's thinking the same thing.

"Well…we're a little worn out, but…nothing…too…serious…" he grins at Trunks.

"Yeah…but that's just US." He says, glancing over in the direction of their female compatriot. "Hey, Kori, how you holdin' up over there?" Kori turns to face the boys, silent for a moment as she fights against her own heavy exhaustion.

"I'm…fine…" she manages, trying her best to seem a little stronger in front of her friends, now that she knows of their amazing abilities. "It's nothing I can't…handle…let's just…hurry and catch our breath so we can get back to…finding Kanba-kun…"

"H…Heh…" is all Trunks can manage, feigning a weak grin. He, too, is trying to come off a bit tougher in front of his somewhat-rival. There is a long moment of silence, as the three recuperate, before someone finally breaks the silence. Surprisingly enough, it's Goten.

"OK. Let's keep going."

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"Well, I guess I picked the perfect place to do this, after all!"

Kanba, still enshrouded in his cloak, stands in another empty room, not unlike the previous one that gave Goten and co. such difficulty. He laughs to himself, pacing the floor a bit.

"Super Saiyajin, he called it…well I'll be Damned." He says, shaking his head and grinning. "If such a thing really does exist, then all my work may finally be bearing fruit…we'll have to see, though…" he smiles softly, reaching under the cloak and fumbling with the golden chain that hangs from his neck. He seems to look at it fondly, if not somewhat dismayed. "Soon, father…and then, after all these years of searching…" he smiles again, a tear falling from under the hood and splashing onto the pendant in his hand. He wipes it off the pendant's plate, engraved with the character "Rai" for thunder, before shuffling the chain back underneath his cloak. "Now, then."

He moves over to one of the seemingly bare walls, touching a hand to its surface and revealing what is really a glass panel-behind it, a switch. He traces a finger gently across the smooth surface, drawing a perfect circle. In a second, the circle pops out, and Kanba reaches his hand through the resulting hole without any worry of broken or jagged glass from the smooth cut. As he presses the switch, the walls rumble…

"Alright…that's pretty much what I expected." He says. "Let's see, they should be arriving in this room right about…wow, right about NOW, perfect!" he remarks, quickly hovering into the air and forming a barrier around his body, making him appear invisible. Just in time, too, as Goten, Trunks and Kori come barreling through the doorway into the room. Kanba looks down from his spot just below the ceiling, unseen to the others, and observes.

"Damn, ANOTHER dead-end room!" Trunks yells angrily. "What's the trick THIS time!"

"Goten-kun, do you think there's another door in the ceiling?" Kori asks, turning to the dark-haired boy. He shakes his head solemnly, his eyebrows narrowing.

"Uh-uh, I don't think so…in fact, this SHOULD be the top of the tower…"

"What?" Trunks asks, looking around the blank room. "But that's impossible! If this is the top, then where the Hell is Kanba!"

"He's…he's right…" Kori says, worry tingeing at her voice. "He should BE here…"

"Do you think something happened to him?" Trunks asks callously, oblivious to Kori's obvious concern. She smacks him for it.

"Don't SAY things like that, Trunks!" she shouts. "He's just GOT to be OK, right! He's just GOT to!"

"Calm down, you two!" Goten says softly, placing a hand on both his friend's shoulders. "I DON'T think that's what's going on here…maybe I was wrong, and this isn't the top…maybe there's—" he is cut off as the room is filled with the sound of a low rumble. At the same time, the door to the stairway, from whence they came, is sealed off by a grid of thick, iron bars. All three look around curiously.

"What…was that?" Kori asks in a low whisper, unconsciously crowding closer to Trunks.

"I don't know…but it sounded like…"

All three simultaneously jump straight into the air at the next sound, its overwhelming volume shaking the entire room. Or so it seems, before Goten notices the real reason for the sudden vibration in the chamber.

"You guys, look out!" he screams, pulling the other two closer to him. "The walls are closing in on us!"

As the very walls of the room begin retreating closer and closer to the center, threatening to crush anyone and anything in their path, Kanba watches silently from above, his barrier letting the solids slip right through him. As panic begins to arise in the three below, Kanba grins.

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Meanwhile, as danger impends on those inside the complex, they go completely unaware of the even greater danger brewing just outside, as the group of strange men arrive just outside the building. Standing there in the glow of the streetlights, they are greeted by another; a seemingly normal human, no older than Goten or Trunks, though his clothing and demeanor indicate him as one of the gangsters, thugs or other derelict residents of the Satan City slums. His back rests against the cool concrete of the complex, and he blows a gum bubble casually, as if completely unaware of the ominous powers of the tower behind him, nor that of the strangers before him.

"You the guys lookin' for the Lost Complex?" he asks in just as casual a tone.

"That would be us." Turcoon says, speaking in place of his quiet superior. "Do you have our…information?"

"That depends…" he says, his voice getting lower. He blows the bubble big enough that it pops on his face, but he only chews it back up and starts over. "You got my money?"

"Oh, yes…" Turcoon says, reaching into the cloak and pulling out several bills. "By 'money' I assume you mean these odd slips of paper that your kind seem to value so…it wasn't too…difficult to obtain." He grins, and the boy goes to snatch the money from his hand-only for Turcoon to pull back, slightly, just out of his reach. "NOT…so fast. You'll get it when we get our information." The boy sighs.

"Alright. Group 'o kids went in there, 'bout…5 or so hours ago. Four of 'em, three boys and one girl."

"Yes…and was one of those boys the one we gave you the description of?" Turcoon asks, noticing Kotaroh's growing impatience.

"Oh, yeah…" the boy mutters, reaching into a pocket and retrieving a slip of paper which he reads aloud. "'Long dark hair, looks to be about 17 years old, should be wearing a gold chain around his neck and left wrist'…Well, it was hard to get a good look at the chain part, but I'm pretty sure I saw one around his neck…he was wearin' a school uniform, though, West Capitol High, dunno if that helps…"

"Yes, that sounds like him…" Turcoon mutters. He is a bit surprised as Kotaroh grins, looking pleased for a change. "Yes, thank you VERY much for your help…" he says, handing over the wad of money to the boy and directing the rest of the group to follow him into the tower. However, just before he can slip through the door, the boy tugs on his cloak, stopping him. Kotaroh snarls a bit, impatiently.

"Hey!" the boy snaps. "What the Hell you tryin' ta pull, here?" Turcoon tries to ignore him, only to have the boy push his way in front of them and press him up against the wall. "I SAID my fee was 20,000 Zeni! You think you can weasel your way out of this by givin' me a measly 13,000? My fees ain't CHEAP, ya punks!" Kotaroh growls, and Turcoon tries desperately to keep the larger man calm.

"I STRONGLY advise you to release me…" he says in a low tone.

"**I** strongly advise **YOU** to cut the CRAP and hand over the CASH, before I bash in your FACE!" the boy replies in an equal volume. Turcoon sighs, all of sudden deftly slipping out of the boy's reach by somehow retreating into his cloak and sliding his way to the other side before popping back into the clothing properly. "W-w-what…the Hell!" the boy gasps, his eyes widening just in time to see Kotaroh directly in front of his face. "Y-y-you guys…aren't…HUMAN!" he screams…

…The last strangled sounds he makes before Kotaroh bares his fangs, raising a large, powerful, tiger-like paw to the boy's throat and deftly silencing him.

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"Dammit!"

As the walls grow closer and closer to the middle of the room, Goten, Trunks and Kori can do nothing but watch in horror, unable to shake their fear of impending death long enough to think of a solution to save themselves.

"Ugh, we have to DO something! We can't just stand here and get CRUSHED to death!" Kori screams, charging at one of the walls and struggling to hold it back with the best of her strength. Goten and Trunks, knowing a human female-even if it IS Kori-could never stop a wall by herself, run over to help her, and soon all three are manning the same wall, while the other continues to move in.

"Argh, this isn't WORKING! We're not STRONG enough!" cries Trunks in frustration. "Goten!" he yells, turning to his friend.

"Just…keep trying, Trunks-kun…" Goten grunts, struggling to hold his weight of the wall back. "If we all work together…we can…do it…"

"Face it, Goten!" Trunks screams, gritting his teeth in pain. "We're not STRONG enough as we are! We don't have a CHOICE!"

"…" Goten shoots him a look, knowing full-well what the other boy is trying to suggest. Going Super Saiyajin may perhaps be the only way to save their lives…

_But…I promised Otousan…it was enough that we had to tell Kori about our powers, but becoming Super Saiyajin? Is that really the only way?_

"Come on, we don't have a CHOICE and you KNOW it!" Trunks screams back, putting the full force of his body into the wall. "Is risking NOT doing it worth DYING over! GOTEN!" he shouts.

"I…" Goten considers, realizing there's no other way but to transform. He nods, giving Trunks his OK. "Otousan…I'm…sorry…" he says solemnly, sliding his hands off the wall and preparing to power up…

_Dammit, they're getting too CLOSE…_Kanba curses, continuing to observe from above. _At this rate, they won't make it in time…Dammit, DAMMIT…I'm going to have to step in…and think of something else…_

Just then, seconds before the walls close in…seconds before Goten and Trunks begin to transform…a sudden wind rushes past the three of them, somehow slipping between the small space remaining in the walls…with a sudden flash of electricity, the walls crumble, and the figure grabs all three and, in a flash, carries them to safety, slipping up through the ceiling to the true top floor of the tower. The room is, appearance-wise, considerably different from any other part of the tower…the top roof is pointed, and the windows, rather than made of glass, are open arches. The walls are made of solid stone, and the entire room looks a lot more like a clock tower than the interior of a former syndicate crime base. Setting them down inside, Kanba jumps back, preparing to flee again.

"Hey, wait!" shouts Goten, stopping Kanba in his tracks. The taller boy freezes, turning around to face the others. "You just…saved us…how can we—" he begins before recognizing the boy's form…the same person who ambushed him at his house that fateful night. "Hey! You're that kid!" he screams angrily, drawing confused looks from Trunks and Kori.

"That…kid?" Trunks asks curiously.

"Remember that morning you came to my house, before school? And found me all beat up?" he asks Trunks. "I told you that some weird kid attacked me in the night…someone STRONG…" he points towards the concealed Kanba, whom none realize to infact be their tall classmate. "It was THIS guy!"

"Are you SERIOUS?" Trunks asks, taken aback slightly. "But then…why would someone who attacked you before just SAVE all of us?"

"I don't know…" Goten says in a low voice, getting to his feet and into a fighting stance. "But I'm not gonna just TRUST 'im so easily!"

Kanba's body tenses, unsure what to do in his current position besides fight or flee. Preparing to make a jump out of one of the easily ten-stories up windows, he pauses, a jolt of energy shooting through is body and causing his blood to freeze.

_Oh no…it can't be…_he shivers, sweat rolling down his face. _That can't be them…but it IS! After all this time…they've FOUND me!_ He looks around, frantic, caught between his apparent pursuers just outside the complex and a fired-up Goten in the room before him. _Crap, there's no choice…There's no way I can handle those guys alone…I'm going to have to risk what I have here…_

"Well!" Goten screams, breaking the boy's concentration. "You gonna just run away or ya gonna NOT be a coward and FIGHT me!"

Trunks and Kori stand on either side of Goten, unsure of what the dark-haired boy intends to do next. At the sound of Goten's words, Kanba turns around, his eyes narrowing beneath the hood of his cloak. He turns to face the smaller boy completely, now, stepping into a stance of his own; a rather unusual one.

"I'm sorry…" he mutters, his voice further muffled by the covering over his face. "But if you wish to leave this tower alive, you're going to have to beat me, first." Goten grins, somewhat excitedly.

"Heh. Bring it on."

As the boys prepare to pick up where they left off in their last battle at the top of the tower, down below them an ominous team of mysterious cloaked men begin making their own way up the tower, their eyes all set on one singular goal. Kotaroh grins again, remaining still silent as these thoughts run through his head…

_At last we've found you…You've done well to elude our grasp these five long years, but you can't run any longer…you runaway, Saiyajin rat…KANBA!_

-END OF CHAPTER 8-


	10. Chapter 9

Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Chapter 9

"Animal or Human? The Strangers Pursuing Kanba"

Notes-

Ooooh, yais. That's right. I'm about to write chapter 9. Less than 24 hours after writing chapter 8. Can you believe this? This is a FIRST in SG2 history. I am on FIRE! Seriously. Though I guess it's not that hard when you think about it, I mean…what? When most people on this site are writing a story (I honestly don't know how it works, people have different processes, so I'm asking), you have to have stuff planned, right? I mean you need to think, and it takes time to do a chapter, or something…etc, etc, right? Because I know that's kinda how I am for other stories, like TruTen one-shots and whatnot (though believe it or not I DO write other things…as in NOT related to Anime…(glare))…but for IGNO, I guess I'm ABLE to just sit down and say "I'll do chapter 9 because I feel like it" and get it done in about an hour and a half (depending on the chapter's length, of course) because, whether or not I've ever gotten to writing FINISHED TYPED VERSIONS of these chapters or not, I've had outlines and handwritten drafts going for the past over 2 years…so, in my head, I already KNOW what is supposed to happen in chapter 9, even if I've never really written it before…and something about that makes it easy to write, once I have the basis. (shrug) So, anyways…since I can't think of anything else particular to rant about (I kinda got it out of my system in chapter 8's notes XD), on with the story!

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman 6/27/06

"Hey!"

The cloaked boy steps aside, just about to retreat when the words resound from behind him, echoing slightly in the closed space of the tower's highest point. He turns to see the dark-haired boy clamoring to his feet, taking a somewhat clumsy fighting stance if not solely for having already exhausted himself earlier.

"Where do you think…you're going?" he asks. "Are you really gonna run, like a coward? Or are ya gonna turn around and finish the fight you started?" He glares at the other boy, completely serious-a side that his two companions beside him are a bit surprised to see. Kanba grits his teeth, though, the only thing visible through his hood are his eyes, which narrow tensely.

_No choice…I have to risk it…_

"I'm…sorry…" he mutters, his voice carrying an air of regret, though it goes unnoticed to the others through the muffling cover over his face. "But if you wish to leave this tower alive…" he pauses, searching the smaller boy's eyes for any apprehension, and finding none; he is determined to fight. "…You're going to have to beat me, first." His reaction is one of slight surprise when the boy in front of him grins, as if intrigued further at the prospect of fighting him again, even though he was so badly beaten the previous occasion.

"Heh. Bring it on." He says slyly, crouching back into his stance and preparing to attack. Just outside, a rush of wind blows past and it begins to rain surprisingly hard, the drops of water filtering through the open walls of the tower's peak. As the situation grows more intense, Kanba is forced to shake off any and all doubts as to fighting the boy at such a time, ever wary of his pursuers making their way up the tower at that very moment.

_And if that happens…no, I can't risk it…this is my last chance! I just have to hope they'll be STRONG enough!_

He clenches his fists, ready in time for a block just as Goten leaps at him with an aerial kick. Goten spins, skidding back on the ground before charging forward again, launching a series of furious blows…all of which are blocked effortlessly by Kanba. Goten halts his attack and jumps back, planning to regroup before attacking again. However, before he has a chance, in the blink of an eye Kanba is behind him, sending hurdling into the wall of the chamber with a massive backhand. His back hits the stone surface hard, causing him to cough up a small amount of blood before falling back to the ground into a small puddle. Kanba stops, sensing out how much time remains before the others reach the top of the tower. A bead of sweat rolls down his face and he bellows at the bruised boy, knowing full well that it would take more to take Goten out.

"Get UP, Son Goten!" he shouts, alerting the boy to opening his clenched-shut eyes. "I know that's not all you've got!"

Gritting his teeth angrily, Trunks rushes over to his friend's side, shaking the boy from his half-unconsciousness.

"Dammit, Goten! Get up!" he says, trying to mask the worry in his voice with a tough edge. "You gonna let this guy smack you around like that! Get up! You're not fighting alone! You've got ME as your partner!" This causes Goten's eyes to snap open, and in an instant he's standing, wiping the blood from his lip and preparing to attack again. He turns to Trunks and grins, drops of water rolling down his face.

"Thanks, Trunks-kun." He says, reaching out a hand to the lavender-haired boy. "Let's show this bozo the power of the world's greatest duo!" Trunks nods, taking the other boy's hand and shaking it quickly before they both get back into their stances. Kanba looks at the two with new interest.

_Perfect…both of them at once…this may be my last chance…_

"Hold on, you two!" Goten and Trunks both turn simultaneously, a bit surprised as Kori walks over to them.

"What? Kori-chan, get back!" Goten warns her. "This could be dangerous!"

"Do you honestly think you can keep me out of this!" she yells back, trying to make her voice heard above the torrential downpour of rain just outside. "You expect me to just sit here and watch you guys get your asses handed to you by this guy! Are you forgetting? I can fight too!" She stands in the falling rain, insistent and determined to carry out this plan.

"Kori-chan, this isn't a regular street fight…" Goten assures her. "This is SERIOUS! This guy…may even be too much for us to handle."

"But…you guys have SUPERPOWERS!" she insists. "You can't let this guy beat you! I don't care WHO he is! **I** can beat him! We can all—"

"Kori, listen…" Trunks mutters, only to be cut off by the girl again.

"Shut up, Trunks! Just SHUT UP!" she screams again…there are tears in her eyes now, though she tries to ignore them. "I'm not gonna let someone else BEAT you! I'm the only one who gets to do that!" she shouts at the top of her lungs, now burying her head in Trunks' shoulder and beating her fists against his chest like a child who didn't get the toy she wanted. Trunks frowns, putting a hand around her shoulder.

"Kori…" he mutters, lifting the girl's face to look at her. He wipes a tear from her eye with his finger, smiling at her. "We won't lose. I promise. I won't let anyone else beat me but you."

"…" She chokes back a tear, narrowing her eyebrows and smiling back at him. "That's right, you won't." he grins back at her, taking her by surprise as he leans over to whisper in her ear.

"I'm sorry, Kori…" he says before knocking her out with a chop to the back of the neck. Goten looks at him in a mix of confusion and shocked horror. He turns to face his friend, letting the unconscious girl slump over his shoulder. "It was for the best." He says, not needing to say more as Goten understands completely. He sets her down against the wall and gets back into position, grinning at Goten. "Besides, now we can go Super Saiyajin without any distractions, right?" Goten's eyes widen, and he grins back.

"Right!" he nods, and both boys begin to steadily gather their energy, expanding their auras little by little. Kanba's eyes widen as he takes notice of their increasing powers.

_S…Super Saiyajin?_ He turns to peer out the edge of the tower, sensing his pursuers close at hand. _No…not yet…I can't let them transform until they get here…I've got to STALL them!_

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" both boys scream into the pouring sky, their energy levels full to bursting, their hair flickering to gold as they prepare to transform. In the split second before they go completely over, however, Kanba vanishes and rematerializes behind Kori, grabbing the unconscious girl by the head…careful to be gentler than he outwardly appears, not wanting to actually harm Kori.

"Hold it!" he screams, drawing the boys' attention just in time to break their concentration. "If you become Super Saiyajin, I'll have no choice but to kill the girl!"

"Trunks-kun…" Goten says warily, grimacing at his friend.

"Dammit…" he curses, considering their position. "We don't have a choice, Goten. We're going to have to fight without going super…at least long enough until one of us can get Kori away from him!" he whispers.

"Got it!" Goten whispers back, nodding in understanding of his friend's plan before leaping directly at Kanba in attack, catching the cloaked boy by surprise.

Kanba dodges the best he can as Goten tries to attack him as well as free the girl from his grasp, but having to hold onto Kori and avoid Goten's blows at the same time begins to prove taxing. Tossing the girl into the air, Kanba raises his hand palm-up, forming a barrier around her and causing her to hover above them all. Goten turns his head up in surprise, distracted just long enough for Kanba to strike a blow to his jaw and send him skidding backward.

As he recovers, Trunks charges at Kanba from behind, hoping to catch him off guard…only to have his kick blocked by one of Kanba's fists, the cloaked boy not even turning to face the lavender-haired boy. Kanba grabs onto Trunks' leg and spins him through the air, tossing him into the opposite wall. It is then Goten's turn to jump back into the fray, trying to fool the taller boy with a series of after images courtesy of the Zanzou-ken technique. It fails, and Goten is only knocked aside again…giving way for Trunks to attack. It isn't long before Kanba catches onto the boys' teamwork; each time he knocks back one of the two and takes his attention off the other, it will be his chance to attack and catch him by surprise. So far, it has proved ineffective as Kanba manages to read all their movements, but he realizes that if it keeps up he'll end up wearing himself out…

_That's not good…at this rate, we'll all be too exhausted by the time they get up here…Dammit, this WASN'T supposed to HAPPEN this way! It's no use…I can't fight them now…I have to get out of here…Goten, Trunks…Kori-chan…I'm sorry to have dragged you into all of this…_

Just then, Kanba rushes over to one of the open arches, preparing once again to jump. Seeing this, Goten and Trunks race over to him, when all of a sudden, a huge streak of lightning cuts through the sky…Kanba's eyes widen when the chain around his neck vibrates, seemingly reacting to the bolt. He grins, stepping down from the ledge with a new plan in mind.

_That bolt just may have recharged me enough…Perfect…if I can just summon enough force…_

"Alright, this is it!" he screams, his entire body sparking with electrical energy. Goten and Trunks take a step back, wary of the sudden burst of power from the other boy. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" he screams, the entire tower rumbling from the sheer force of the energy he's emitting.

"T-T-T-Trunks-kun, what's going on!" Goten asks.

"Something NOT good…" he replies, looking around as their surroundings begin to crumble. Just then, Goten's eyes widen as Kanba increases his power once again, the mask on his energy signal loosening for a just a split second.

_That…that Ki…_Goten thinks, glaring in the cloaked boy's direction. _It can't be…it felt like…_

"Goten! This entire tower is gonna collapse! We've got to get Kori and get out of here!"

The dark-haired boy nods silently, but before either has the chance to make a move they are knocked aside by a massive gust of wind…Kanba's aura overwhelming them as it shakes the very foundation of the Lost Complex.

_Just a bit longer…if I can just hold this energy a bit longer…if I can crush this tower underneath us…_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What's going on!"

On a lower floor of the complex's interior, the mysterious band of men crowd around, taking obvious note of the tower's shaking.

"It feels like the entire building is going to fall apart!" Turcoon remarks, turning to face the band's apparent leader. He is surprised to see a grin on the other's veiled face, his sharp fangs forming a menacing grimace. "K-Kotaroh-sama?"

"Perfect…" he growls, actually speaking words for a rare change. "Do you feel that power? That raw energy…that's the pendant, alright. That's what we've been searching for…he's up there…" he growls slyly, signaling to the rest of his troops and pushing forward in the crumbling building. Turcoon looks shocked.

"Kotaroh-sama…"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

"Dammit!" Trunks screams, trying to fight the overwhelming power of Kanba's energy. "The wind he's emitting…the force is too strong! I can't even get my footing, let alone take to the sky!" he remarks, pointing to the still-hovering Kori.

"We've got to do something, Trunks-kun…"

"But WHAT!" Trunks screams, feeling completely helpless in the situation.

Kanba turns, noticing the boys struggle as he continues to output more and more energy, fueled further by the lighting of the raging storm outside.

_Goten-kun…Trunks-kun…I'll do my best to shield you as the tower comes down…_

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he screams, putting forth even more energy than before and causing the stones of the tower themselves to loosen, rubble raining down on the floor below not unlike the water raining just outside the tower.

"Trunks-kun!" Goten shouts, desperately clinging to a stone pillar before even it succumbs to the massive outburst of power. "I can't…hold on…" he grabs tight to the last remnants of the wall as his fingers loosen, threatening to suck him out of the tower.

"GOTEN!" Trunks screams, rushing over and grabbing his friend's arm, pulling him back inside before both end up tumbling over, smacking against the opposite wall.

"Ow…" Goten cringes, a loose stone from the roof crashing onto his head.

"Goten, are you alright!" Trunks exclaims worriedly, shaking his best friend loose of the rubble.

"Uh…I'm fine, Trunks-kun…" he responds, rubbing the back of his bruised head. "But…at this rate, we're not gonna last much longer…" he remarks, looking over at Kanba. "I knew it the night I fought him…this guy…his power's unreal…we're really gonna die, Trunks-kun…"

"Dammit…DAMMIT!" Trunks cries, hugging his friend closer to him. "First we lose track of Kanba, and now we can't even save Kori…we can't even protect those close to us…and now…we're all going to…"

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—" All of a sudden, Kanba's entire body tenses, his aura snapping before shattering completely, the force of his energy too much for him to handle. He slumps back, collapsing to his knees as the tower continues crumbling around them. He leans forward, sweat dripping onto the floor in front of him.

"I…failed…" he mutters, cursing his inability to finish the job. "I couldn't…handle it…the p…power…"

As the force of Kanba's energy clears the air, Goten and Trunks find themselves able to move once again. Nodding to the other boy, Trunks leaps into the air and grabs Kori, still encompassed in the mysterious barrier, and heads for the exit, signaling for his friend to follow.

"Goten, come on!" he cries. "We've got to get out of here before the whole building collapses!" Goten looks to him, then to the fallen Kanba.

"But…this guy…" he mutters.

"HE'S the one that got us into this mess to BEGIN with! And he tried to KILL us!" Trunks yells. "FORGET about him and come on! We've got to find Kanba and get our OWN asses out of here!"

"K…Kanba…" Goten mutters, glancing in the cloaked boy's direction. "That's right…I felt…"

"**GOTEN!**"

"Dammit!" Goten yells, making a mad dash towards the exit and his friends…but not before grabbing Kanba's fallen form.

"What…are you doing?" Kanba asks, taken aback by the dark-haired boy's compassionate gesture.

"SAVING your ass!" he screams, carrying him out of the way and reaching the exit just as the entire roof crashes down directly where the cloaked boy was sitting. Kanba looks up into Goten's eyes, seeing no malice or deceit…only a kind, if not foolish, concern for the other. He has only but a minute to regret the horrible mess he sucked the boy into before himself falling into a state of unconsciousness, his energy completely drained.

After a moment, Goten catches up to Trunks, who looks none too pleased to see Goten's kindness having got the best of him once again.

"Goten, what the Hell!" he shouts, glaring at the wounded boy slung over his shoulder. "Are you forgetting that guy just tried to KILL us!"

"I wasn't gonna LEAVE him there, Trunks-kun!" he bellows back as they continue to run down the winding stairs that gave them such difficulty on the way up. "Besides, I think I just figured out what happened to Kanba." At the words, Trunks pauses, turning to face the younger boy in confusion.

"What?" is all he can manage, a sly grin forming on the dark-haired boy's face.

"I'll explain later! Right now we've got to get out of here!"

"R-right!" he nods, continuing to dash down the ever winding stairs.

After a few moments, they arrive at the room with a hole in the floor, the exit they previously used to climb up through the ceiling. Sensing the chaos dying down and the tower becoming more secure now that the energy output has ended, the boys feel comfortable enough stopping inside the room, each setting down their respective quarry.

"Hey. Wake up." Goten says dryly, slapping the unconscious boy across the face and causing him to come to.

Taking a second to regain his senses and notice his surroundings, Kanba leaps away from the boys, taking a defensive stance instinctively. Goten cocks an eyebrow as Trunks looks on, wondering what in the world is causing his friend to act so casually towards the one who was beating them to a pulp only moments ago.

"You can cool it with the tough-guy act now…" he says, walking over to and backing the cloaked boy against the wall, reaching up and yanking the hood off his head. "Kanba-kun!"

Both Trunks and Kanba are shocked; Kanba that his disguise was so easily seen through and Trunks that Goten managed to figure something like that out before even he. Trunks' eyebrows narrow, none too happy having been deceived by someone he considered to be a friend.

"Kanba, what the Hell!" he growls, preparing to approach the boy aggressively before being held back by Goten.

"Hold on, Trunks-kun." He says quietly, never taking his eyes off the revealed boy. "I want to give him a chance to explain himself first-BEFORE we bash his face in!"

"How…did you figure it out?" he asks, unsure of where exactly he slipped up.

"Well, I had my suspicions all along, since the night you attacked me at my house…" he says. "But I was never really SURE until we stepped into this tower."

"…"

"It all started when we entered the complex." Goten goes on to explain. "Right off the bat, you ended up separating from us after Trunks-kun dropped us through that trap door. It was a little suspicious when we couldn't find YOU, who brought us here to BEGIN with, and that me an' Trunks-kun couldn't even sense your energy signal. That's the first thing that tipped me off."

"…"

"Then," Goten goes on, "even when we got to the highest floor of the tower, we hadn't found you, even though you made it clear that the only way out of the building was to get to the top after the main exit locked us out. I knew there was no way you had escaped, and I didn't think that you found the way out at the top and bailed on us, so since we couldn't sense you…I figured it out. You were hiding your energy signal from me an' Trunks-kun on PURPOSE."

"Wh…what? You…" Trunks manages, not having had even the slightest suspicion of his classmate Kanba and the malicious mysterious boy being one in the same.

_You figured this all out on your OWN, Goten?_

"The final thing that proved it to me without a doubt was when we saw you at the top of the tower." Goten continues. "I thought it was pretty unlikely that I would just HAPPEN to see 'that guy', the one who attacked me at my house, again like that-obviously it was no coincidence. You were LOOKIN' for me. And I already had my suspicions of you that night…seeing 'that guy' again, right when Kanba had completely vanished? It just wasn't adding up. The icing on the cake was when you started powering up."

"H…huh?"

"When you started putting out that much energy, your control over masking your Ki slipped for a second, and I felt YOU. I felt KANBA."

"Y…" Kanba is shocked, and manages only to laugh breathlessly at how the seemingly clueless Goten managed to uncover his disguise. "I've got to hand it to you."

"So now I've told you how I figured it out. Now you've gotta answer MY questions!" he says, moving in closer to the taller boy. "Starting with who the Hell you are and what you WANT with me an' Trunks-kun!" Kanba tightens, finding himself with no other choice than to explain himself.

"OK." He begins…but it's all he has the chance to say before the door to the room below them bursts open. All three boys look through the hole in their room's floor at once, Goten and Trunks confused as to why the room below is suddenly filled with mysterious cloaked men…Kanba, completely terrified.

"What's that?" Goten says aloud, alerting the men in the room below.

Kanba quickly clasps a hand over the boy's mouth to prevent further outbursts, but it's too late…in a split second, the very floor they are standing on is blown apart by a massive blast, sending the boys-and the still unconscious Kori-hurdling to the floor of the room below.

As they land with a thud, Goten and Trunks find themselves surrounded by the strange veiled men, Kanba's face dripping with sweat. Kori stirs nearby, finally coming to and taking note of the strange surroundings as well…seeing Kanba sitting close by, her eyes widen in excitement.

"Kanba!" she exclaims, her shout drawing the attention of Turcoon. Kanba shivers, noticing there is nowhere to run to. Turcoon grins, moving to stand over the terrified boy.

"Ah, yes…that was your name, wasn't it? 'Kanba'? Heh…long time no see, boy…" he says sadistically, pacing the floor back and forth before Kanba. "Yes…that fearful expression on your face reminds me of the last time we saw one another. You remember, don't you? It was right after we killed that traitorous FATHER of yours!" Kanba grits his teeth and clenches his fist at the words, his three companions looking towards him in shocked horror. "Still don't remember who we are? Well that hurts…" he frowns, feigning disappointment. Nodding to the small army of men behind him, Turcoon removes his hood, the others following suit…

"What…"

"The…"

"Hell!"

Kori, Goten and Trunks exclaim in unison, not believing the sight before their eyes. Standing before them are fifteen or so men…or rather, not so much men as twisted, animalistic freaks of nature…a monkey with the claws of a lobster; a four-legged beast with the lower body of a rhino and the upper body and head of a lion; a raccoon-like creature with a large turtle shell on his back; a gigantic bat-winged wolf; a crocodile with enormous eagle wings…and many more horribly disfigured creatures, looking like genetic engineering experiments gone horribly wrong. They are somewhat humanoid in appearance; most of them standing on two legs and having a body structure not unlike man's, only bearing the claws, fangs, wings and other beastlike characteristics that make them a terrifying sight to behold.

The last one to remove his hood is the largest of the group, standing in the very center. Kotaroh reveals himself; a massive, nearly seven-foot tall beast…his facial features are characteristically feline, more specifically that of a tiger…his body is rounded and he stands on two sturdy hulking legs, resembling the form of a panda bear or something similar to it. His bulging arms attach to two massive paws, claws bared…Kanba nearly jumps out of his skin as the tremendous creature addresses him directly, grinning at him with gigantic glinting fangs.

"How nice to see you again, son of Rawstberi." He growls. Kanba shudders, sweat veritably pouring off his face.

"K-Kotaroh…" he manages, slowly stumbling to his feet using the wall behind him as support. Kotaroh grins again, eager to see the boy's initiative.

"I see, anxious for a fight already, I see?" he rumbles, his voice low in his throat. "You seem like you've gotten stronger after five years."

Goten, Trunks and Kori all manage to get to their feet, as well, forming up around Kanba, wary of the malicious troupe surrounding them.

"Kanba…" Trunks trails off.

"What's going on?" Goten whispers to him. "Who ARE these guys?"

"I…" he cringes.

_This…_

"L…listen…" he says softly.

_This doesn't feel right…Goten-kun…Trunks-kun…they saved my life…after everything I did, they…_

"I'll explain everything…I swear…"

_I can't…drag them into this…I can't get them killed over my own ordeal…_

"But…right now…"

_Dammit…I feel so selfish…isn't this what I was planning all along? Isn't this why…_

"I need…"

_I spent all this time testing them…hoping they'd be strong enough…but this is MY fight! I can't…_

"I need…"

_I can't ask them to help me…_

"I need you guys…to get out of here…and—"

"Kanba-kun!" the long-haired boy turns as Goten shouts aloud, not trying to keep his voice quiet. He looks to his side to see the dark-haired boy grinning, holding up a fist to him.

"These guys are your enemies, right?" Kanba can only watch confused as Goten grabs Kanba's own arm, lifting it up and balling it into a fist. He turns to Trunks and gives the lavender-haired boy a nod.

"…Y…Yes…" he stammers.

"Then let's beat 'em up." Goten says, smiling and playfully knocking his own fist into the cloaked boy's. Trunks does the same.

"W…what?"

"We're gonna help you, dummy." Trunks says, giving Kanba a slap on the back.

"You're…but…why?" he asks, unsure of their motivation to enter into a highly potentially dangerous battle.

"Because." Goten turns to him and grins. "That's what friends DO."

"…"

"Alright, Goten!" Trunks shouts, stepping out in front of Kanba and taking a battle stance, much to the surprise of the beastlike men. "You ready?" Goten steps out beside him, taking an identical stance.

"Un!"

"Right! Let's go!"

The mysterious cloaked beasts look on with a great deal of confusion as the boys begin to power up, getting involved in a battle that has absolutely nothing to do with them. Kanba watches with an equal, or perhaps greater confusion, in utter disbelief at the words from the other boy's mouth.

'_That's what friends do'…_

Kanba smiles, shaking free of the terrified sweats that had been gripping him. He tosses off his own cloak and steps out with Goten and Trunks, grabbing tightly to the chain around his neck and crackling with energy…unafraid of the danger as he prepares to battle alongside his friends.

-END OF CHAPTER 9-


	11. Chapter 10

Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Chapter 10

"Let's Team Up-For Now! The Amazing Trio"

Notes-

OK, finally here. Back again after another month-long IGNO break (though to be fair to me, I WASN'T SLACKING OFF! I WROTE 2 MAJOR TRUTEN FANFICS DURING THAT TIME!), and now that I finally finished my TruTen fic Sekai ga Owaru Made Wa and got that up…it's time to get back to IGNO. Time for Chapter 10, which is essentially what I consider to be the "last" of the chapters that are more "pre-IGNO"-as in, the stuff BEFORE the first major story arc, and all. Let's see what we've got this time around…OK, the big climactic showdown between Goten, Trunks and Kanba vs. these strange cloaked animal guys right hyah…and…hmmm…well, I guess chapter 10 is pretty much the majority one big fight scene, in itself…or a lot of fighting, at least…aren't you glad I've FINALLY gotten into the FIGHTING stuff, 10 chapters into this DRAGONBALL fic? XD Anyways, yeah. Lots of fighting and stuff in this chapter. As well as some foreshadowing of some MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAJOR secrets that will be revealed…in chapter 11. Basically this is the precursor to chapter 11, which will be MASSIVE. Seriously. I think 11 will probably be one of the longest chapters I'll ever write, so it'd make more sense to split that into chapter 11 AND 12, but, due to its structure and being mostly flashback and whatnot, I…can't do that. So…chapters 10 and 11 will BOTH be pretty long chapters…if you have the patience to read it all (well, if you're reading an SG2 Production, you'd best be thoroughly prepared to read a lot ANYWAYS XD), these chapters are only truly the beginning of IGNO. That's right. If you ask me, IGNO does NOT begin at chapter 1-it begins at chapter 11. And, chapter 10 is the wrap-up of stuff BEFORE chapter 11, so…it may seem weird to mention chapter 11 so much in the notes section of chapter TEN, but, uh…well I'm weird like that. You all know by now. A few notes on THIS chapter, because I just KNOW I'm going to get some comments on this…first off, yes, we do all find amusement in Mobster's name. Or for that matter, the names of all the beast-men…the reason their names are so generic are for two reasons-1, I'm not very creative, and 2, because it saves me the trouble of having to individually describe every meaningless creature because they should be easy enough to figure out the animal mixes (Turcoon? Come on, folks! Turtle + Raccoon Turcoon! Sheesh!). Second of all, YES, I DO remember Adult Swim's "Flying Shark vs. Flying Crocodile" a few years back. And YES, that IS what gave me the idea. Happy? Anyways, enjoy the story!

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman 8/7/06

All four stand about one another, trembling in a mix of fear and utter shock at their current situation. Having been led into the mysterious Lost Complex in the back parts of Satan City in promise of a possible treasure, Goten and Trunks, along with their classmate Kori, follow Kanba into the unusual expedition one night after school…finding themselves lost, then reunited, and now…surrounded by horrific abominations of God.

"It's so good to see you again after so long, son of Rawstberi…" speaks the apparent leader of the band of cloaked men, the massive ursarine-feline identified only as Kotaroh. "You seem a lot stronger now…then again, it HAS been five years."

"K-K-Kotaroh…" the boy mutters, stumbling back slightly. He turns to either side of him, completely taken aback by the sight.

Goten and Trunks stand beside him, having taken their own fighting stances. Only mere moments after he tried to apparently kill them both, they are now at his side, preparing to defend him against his own personal enemies.

"You…" he begins, speechlessness getting the better of him. "You can't possibly mean…"

"Kanba-kun." Goten says calmly, holding a fist up to the other boy. "These guys are your enemies, right?"

"Y…yes…"

"Well, then let's beat 'em up." He says, smiling confidently. Kanba turns and looks at Trunks, the lavender-haired boy wearing the same look of confidence on his own face.

"You mean…you're going to HELP me?" he asks in confusion. "But…I just tried to…I mean, I almost KILLED you! I got you into this whole mess, and…" he pauses, unsure of what else to say. "It…isn't your battle…you have no reason to…"

"Kanba!" Trunks breaks in, catching the taller boy's attention. "We're not going to just leave you here and let you get killed by these scumbags."

"But…why?"

"Because that's what friends DO." Goten says, grinning.

Not exactly certain of their motivation to help him beyond those words, Kanba finds himself not to question Goten and Trunks' aid. This battle had been something he'd been avoiding for the past 5 years, and he always knew was his and his alone to face…yet as he stands beside his classmates, both completely unafraid of the terrible powers before them…he smiles.

_'That's what friends do'…_

"What's going on, lord Kotaroh?" Turcoon asks, turning to his superior. "Who are these kids? Are they INSANE, trying to pick a fight with us?"

"They are of no concern." Kotaroh growls, not bothering to face Turcoon as he speaks. "Concentrate on the boy…beat him around a bit, but don't kill him, if at all possible. I'd rather him be brought back ALIVE."

"O-of course, sir." Turcoon nods, turning towards the troupe of beast-men behind him. "Listen, men! Don't concern yourselves with the others! Just secure the Saiyajin traitor! Keep him ALIVE…and at all costs, make CERTAIN you do not damage the Modification Amplifiers, understood!" the beast-men nod, grouping into battle formation and saluting their commander-in-chief.

"Damn, there sure are a lot of 'em, Trunks-kun…" Goten remarks, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "Think we can handle it?"

"Who do you think you're talking about, Goten?" Trunks snickers, getting into a stance. "We've fought MUCH tougher guys than these in the past, and we were just little kids back then!" Goten nods, returning to his own confident stance.

"Yeah, you're right!" he says, turning his gaze quickly to Kori who is still sitting on the floor in shock. "Kori-chan, just stay there, alright?"

"B-but—" she protests, but stops herself. "I-I understand…" she cringes, hating, but knowing full-well, that she is no match for opponents like these.

"G-guys…" Kanba whispers, gripping the chain around his neck tightly. "These troops may be high in number, but their physical strength is nothing to be worried about. Judging by the strength you two showed me in our battle on the tower, they should be no problem to you, but…" He turns his gaze to the two standing in front of the small army. "It's THOSE TWO that are the real problem…let ME handle them by myself, alright?" he says, turning back to Goten and Trunks.

"Are you crazy?" Goten whispers back. "This is a TEAM effort, Kanba-kun! What if you get—" he stops short of finishing his sentence, taking notice of the serious look in the boy's eyes and the sparks of lightning crackling around him.

_It's just like when we were fighting earlier…_he thinks to himself.

"Alright, Goten." Trunks says, letting the younger boy in on his strategy. "I'll take all the guys on the left side, you go for the right. Should be a piece of cake, right?"

"Are you kidding?" he laughs. "It'll be MORE than that for a Super Saiyajin!" at the sound of the words, Kanba's ears perk up again.

"W-Wait, you guys!" Kanba whispers loudly, drawing both boys' attention before they can power up. "You can't become Super Saiyajin!"

"What!" both boys shout simultaneously. "Why not!"

"I-I'll explain later!" Kanba assures them. "Just promise me you won't go Super, alright?"

_If these guys see them transform, they'll know that there are other Saiyajin still alive, and that the legends are true after all…_Kanba thinks worriedly. _If they were to find that out and flee back to the home world, and if Seiryuu were to get wind of it…_his eyes widen. _This entire planet could be in grave danger…I can't let what happened to my planet be repeated…Especially not after all these guys have done for me…_

"…" Trunks glances at Goten, unsure of his friend's reaction to the situation. "What do you think?" he asks. "Kori's still watching, besides, but if we needed to…" he trails off, waiting for Goten to respond.

"…Fine." Goten resigns to Kanba. "But as soon as this battle is over, you owe us a LOT of answers!" Kanba nods, giving the dark-haired boy his unspoken promise.

"Are you sure this is OK, Goten?" Trunks asks.

"I'm sure he has good reason for telling us not to go Super, whatever it is…" Goten replies. "Besides, you said it yourself. Kori-chan is still watching, and these guys do look pretty tame…I think we'll do fine without it."

_Now that I think about it, the first night I met him Kanba-kun seemed to know a little about Super Saiyajin already…_Goten muses. _Just what in the world is going ON here? Otousan…is this really the burden you've left on me and Trunks-kun's shoulders? Can I…really be as strong as you? _he thinks, wondering if his father is even aware of the posing threat from wherever in the world he is.

"Ready, then?" Trunks asks.

"Un." Goten nods. "Let's go!"

"CHARGE!" Turcoon bellows, pointing in the direction of Kanba and co. and directing his troops to attack.

"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The boys each run to opposite sides, leaving Kanba standing in the middle. They both power up to the highest level they can reach without going Super, the winds of their aura alone knocking some of the weaker soldiers onto their backs.

"What are they doing!" Turcoon asks from the sidelines as his men are forced to fight the duo protecting Kanba. "I told them not to BOTHER with those vermin!"

"Let them be." Kotaroh says in a low tone. "This could prove interesting." Turcoon looks confused as a menacing grin spreads across his leader's face.

Meanwhile, Goten and Trunks continue to work at wiping out the lower soldiers.

"This isn't even worth us using THIS much power!" Trunks laughs, elbowing one of the beast-men in the face before spin-kicking another who tries to sneak up on him from behind. "You guys are NOTHING!"

"Don't take your guard down, Trunks-kun!" Goten warns, dodging the claws of one of the beast-men and jumping into the air, knocking his opponent to the ground with little difficulty. "There may be more to these guys than meets the eye!" Trunks laughs again, sliding across the floor and then lunging forward, grabbing a monkeylike beast-man by the tail and swinging him around.

"Yeah, I know, but they're just so EASY that—" Trunks is cut off as he is suddenly struck and send crashing into a wall.

"Trunks-kun!" Goten cries in worry, unable to come to his friend's aid as he fends off his own foes. "Are you OK?" On the other side of the room, Trunks rises to his feet, wiping a bit of blood from his lip.

"Yeah, just fine…you were right, he caught me off guard, alright…" Trunks grins at his opponent as he raises a hand…or rather, a claw. "Lobster claws, eh?"

"They call me Mobster." The beast-man says, introducing himself. "You'd be wise not to underestimate me, boy. My claws are more agile than they appear."

"Yeah, yeah." Trunks steps back, brushing dust off his body. "Talk all you want, I've yet to meet anyone who could best my speed."

"You're on." Both grin, and quickly separate, each jumping backwards and away from the other.

Trunks' feet touch against the wall behind him and he leaps forward again, his hand reaching up to grab a pipe in the ceiling. Mobster uses his monkey-like quickness to dash upside down on the ceiling, his prehensile tail holding him to the pipelines as he races forward at Trunks. The boy jumps back, releasing his hold on the pipe and doing a flip through the air as Mobster's claws dart at him, just barely missing his neck and clipping some of the boy's hair off. Trunks grits his teeth and bounces off the wall again, skidding across the floor as he lands.

_Dammit…_he thinks. _If that had been just a little closer there wouldn't have been much left of my HEAD…_

"Che…" he curses as Mobster returns to the floor before him. "You're gonna REGRET messin' with my HAIR!" he yells, charging forward once more.

They continue to exchange blows, Trunks' speed giving him just enough of an edge to dodge the furious claws of his opponent. Taking Trunks' focus on the claws as a distraction, Mobster is able to move his tail around behind the boy, wrapping it around his leg.

"What!" Trunks yells as he is thrown to the ground by the tail. "Uugh!"

"Hahahaha, I told you not to underestimate me!" Mobster shouts, leaping onto the floored boy. "Now, I'll take your head as a souvenir!"

"As if!" Trunks shouts, kicking the creature off of him and leaping across the room, landing behind the stunned Mobster.

"What!" Mobster shouts, turning to face behind him. "But I knocked you—" he is cut off as Trunks vanishes and reappears above him through use of the after image technique, soundly knocking the beast unconscious with a blow to the head. He hands, brushing dust off himself.

"Like I said, not even worth my time." He barely has a chance to get the words out, however, before another beast is on him. "Dammit, they make up for lack of quality with quantity, that's for sure!" he curses as more beast-men swarm around him, defending himself as effectively as possible against the onslaught.

Meanwhile, Goten is having problems of his own with the beast-men just on the other side of the crowded room. He seems to be faring slightly better than Trunks, however, having knocked out a substantial number of his attackers and never lowering his guard.

"Alright, it shouldn't take too much longer if I keep this pace…" Goten says to himself, spin-kicking yet another beast-man into the wall and rendering him unconscious. "Then hopefully, I can help Trunks-kun out, and Kanba-kun is still…"

For a split second, he tries to turn his gaze to the long-haired boy, but is unable to take his eyes away from the battle for long before he is stricken in the face. He wipes a drop of blood from the cut produced on his cheek, trying to locate the one who hit him but seeing nothing. He looks above him and sees the culprit, hovering in mid-air.

"Heh…"

"What the Hell!" Goten shouts, taking in the sight of his foes.

Side-by-side are two predatory beast-men, both with massive feathered wings. Attached to a pair of black wings is a beast-man with the body of a shark, with front talons. With snow-white wings beside him is a beast-man with the body of a crocodile, having sharp talons in place of his back legs. Both are considerably large, about the same size as Kotaroh, and they grin down at Goten menacingly with their razor-sharp teeth.

"Looks like we got him, Creagle." The shark-man says to his partner.

"Nah…" the other responds, tail swinging in the air. "Just barely graze 'im…" he says before turning to the shark-man. "Whaddya say we get a bit more serious, eh, Sharven?" he grins.

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"What in the world is WITH these guys?" Goten shouts, still taken by the surprise of his foes. "This whole thing is one big freak show!"

"You're one to talk, boy!" Sharven shouts, diving through the sky and straight at Goten.

The dark-haired boy just manages to jump back in time, avoiding the deadly mouth of the shark. However, as he turns back and prepares to launch another attack, he finds both of his foes gone.

"W-what! Uuugh!" he arches forward as he is struck in the back with the strong tail of Creagle's reptilian body.

Taking the boy's distraction on his injury as his chance, Sharven leaps in again, preparing to devour the boy whole. However, just before his hits, Goten grins, making the quick move to duck behind the shark-man. Grabbing him tightly by the tail, he swings Sharven through the air, tossing him directly into Creagle and bowling both of them over. Before they have the change to recover and continue their attack, Goten leaps into the air above the both of them, charging energy into his palms.

"KameKame Ha!" he shouts, firing the blast at the both and frying them instantly. He lands beside the charred bodies, wiping the blood still dripping from the gash on his cheek. "Man, what a waste…Free seafood, but I don't have time to EAT right now!" he remarks to the cooked beasts, turning behind him just in time to block a blow from another beast-man. "Man, how many of these guys are there!" he wonders aloud, blasting multiple beasts and desperately trying to keep them at bay.

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As all this is going on, Kanba faces off against Kotaroh himself, the confident beast grinning at him with glinting fangs. Turcoon stands unflinchingly at his side, confident in his master's abilities. Kanba narrows his eyes, tightening his grip on his necklace.

"How did you find me, Kotaroh!" Kanba shouts, wasting no time in confronting his pursuer. "It's been five years since I left that Hell you created! You can't possibly mean to tell me you've been tracking me for that entire time!" Kotaroh grins, laughing to himself.

"Five years…" he repeats. "Yes, it WOULD seem a bit pointless to waste that much time tracking ONE runaway slave, and a little boy, no less, wouldn't it?" he looks at Kanba, who has yet to move from his position. "But as you must know by now, it wasn't YOU we were looking for." He points at the chain around the long-haired boy's neck. "It's your Modification Amplifier. Or rather, should I say…the strongest Modification Amplifier that your traitor of a father ever created." Kanba's eyes widen.

"W-what!" he says, taking a step back. "I-I don't know what you're—"

"Don't play dumb with me, boy." Kotaroh growls. "Five years ago you fled your pathetic planet in a desperate attempt to escape me and keep that ModAmp out of my hands…but now, finally, we've found you…" he clenches a fist, raising it up to the boy. "And your weapon is MINE!"

"Not a chance…" Kanba says, clutching the chain tighter and causing sparks of lightning to dance around his body. "I'd never give this over to the likes of you…"

"Heh…" he grins. "What I want to know is why you chose this pathetic little planet to hide on…what could possibly benefit from this sad little dust ball?" he asks. At the words, Kanba's expression completely changes and he grins, laughing.

"Because…" he smiles, looking up at the feline-like beast. "There's someone on this planet…someone strong enough to defeat ALL of you and free my people…" Kotaroh cocks an eyebrow, not sure whether the boy is bluffing or not. "A man named Son Gokou!"

"Feh…" Kotaroh snickers. "No one from this lowly planet could ever stand up to the might of the Chimerajin! We are the ultimate warriors, the mightiest of beasts! We will one day soon take this universe, one planet at a time, making slaves out of everyone and destroying any and all who oppose us! And, once I get my hands on that ModAmp of yours…" Kotaroh leaps at the boy. "I'LL BE THE STRONGEST OF THEM ALL!"

Kanba steps back into a stance, preparing to face the beast head-on.

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"Kyah!"

A cold cock to the face and another beast-man is down. Both boys now stand side-by-side, having defeated the vast majority of the already substantial-in-number beast-men and now working as a team to take out the remainder. Looking around the room, they notice only two beast-men standing in the way of them coming to Kanba's aid.

The first, unlike most of the others, stands on all fours, build a lot more like a beast than the rest. His hind legs are strong and sturdy, with hooved feet, while the beast's upper-body far closer resembles a large, powerful cat. With a long flowing mane of hair and a long horn protruding from his face, it appears that he is a mix between a rhinoceros and a lion.

The second stands on all fours as well, looking almost entirely to be a small wolf aside from the wings protruding from his back. He appears to be blind, his narrow eyes dull and pupil-less. Both stand side-by-side, as well, facing the duo before them.

"Looks like these are the only ones left, Trunks-kun." Goten says, breathing somewhat heavy. "Then we'll be able to help Kanba-kun."

"Y…" Trunks gasps, clearly shot for breath himself after battling so many beast-men. "Yeah…"

"Good luck with that." The lionoceros says. "Too bad that the 'only ones left' are me and Bolf, here."

"Yeah yeah, and let me guess, 'we shouldn't underestimate you', right?" Trunks says in a sarcastic tone. "Haven't heard that before."

"You'll find Lhino and I to be quite different." Bolf says, bearing his fangs.

"Oh yeah? Well PROVE IT!" Trunks shouts, charging at Lhino.

He takes to the air by use of the after image technique, momentarily distracting Lhino as Goten comes at him from behind. As Lhino prepares to charge Goten instead, both boys split into several after images, confusing Lhino as to who is the solid target and driving him into a blind rage. Not having moved from his own spot, Bolf speaks up.

"Lhino, the real ones are above you." he says, and at the confirmation Lhino bucks, his horn striking Trunks' true body and sending the boy upwards and crashing into the ceiling.

"Trunks-kun!" Goten shouts in concern, his own after image breaking with his loss of concentration. As he moves to help his friend, Lhino swats him down with a strong paw, slamming him into the ground with a thud. "Ah…ow…" Goten mutters, struggling to stand up. "That…hurt…"

"What did I tell you?" Lhino says, glaring down at the boy. "We're stronger than the others. Even if my eyes can't see you, Bolf's sonar can still detect your body heat."

"GOTEN!" Trunks shouts, regaining his bearing and diving down to his friend. He is stopped midway as Bolf takes into the air, blocking his way down. "Out of my way!" Trunks yells.

"You'd best mind your manners, BOY!" Bolf growls, lunging at the boy and sinking his teeth into his shoulder.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Trunks screams, searing pain overtaking him as blood leaks around the teeth embedded into his skin.

"NOW SUFFER!" Bolf growls, tearing through Trunks' flesh and causing the boy to release a blood-curdling yell.

"TRUNKS-KU—UUGH!" Goten begins, only to be pinned up against the wall by the charging Lhino. The horn catches him in the gut, impaling him-luckily, the wall at his back prevents him from being completely run-through as Lhino gores him.

"We're strong because we work individually to break up your pathetic teamwork!" Lhino shouts, swatting at Goten's face with a massive paw. "Individually, you're not STRONG enough to beat EITHER of us!"

Goten grins, spitting out a bloody tooth knocked loose by Lhino's blows to his face. With both hands, he reaches up and grasps the horn, yanking it from his body. He stumbles back a bit, catching himself on the wall as he grinds his feet harder into the floor below.

"Heh…" he snickers. "Not…strong enough?" he grins wryly, looking up at Trunks. "What do you say, Trunks-kun? You ready?"

"Wh…What?" Bolf gasps in surprise as Trunks grabs him by the scruff of the neck by one hand, the other clutching his wounded shoulder.

"Yeah…I'm ready…" Trunks shouts back down to Goten, who flashes a smile.

"Ready for…what!" Lhino asks in shock, trying to shake loose of Goten's grip.

The boy only grins in response as he and Trunks simultaneously release their captives, tossing them forcefully through the air. Lhino smashes into the ceiling, Bolf into the floor, and the two boys reunite, standing back-to-back. As Lhino's body falls back down to the ground, he lands on top of Bolf, the weight crushing the other beneath him. Then, as a final move, Goten and Trunks charge their own energy, combining their individual blasts into one massive one and hitting the two beasts head-on. High-fiving one another, the boys land beside the corpses below.

"Ready to show you that OUR teamwork can't BE broken up." Trunks says confidently. "Goten…are you alright?" he asks, turning to the dark-haired boy.

"I'll be alright, Trunks-kun." He says, clutching his stomach. "See? It didn't go all the way through. How about…you?"

"I'll be fine." He responds nonchalantly. "Thankfully he only took out my left shoulder. I can still fight."

"Good…Because we still have to go help…Kanba…k…" before he can finish, Goten's loss of blood gets the best of him and he collapses.

"GOTEN!" Trunks screams, catching the boy before he hits the ground. "GOTEN, ARE YOU OK!" he shouts worriedly, shaking the boy slightly.

"I'll be fine…Trunks-kun…I just…can't move right now…" he grits his teeth in pain. "Guess he got me better'n I thought, after all…"

"Don't worry about that…" Trunks reassures him. "You just need to rest for now."

"B-but Kanba-kun is—" he tries to lift his body enough to look in Kanba's direction, but is unable to and ends up collapsing back into Trunks' arms.

"See? You're in no condition to fight as you are anyway. But besides…" Trunks trails off, observing Kanba's battle with Kotaroh on the other side of the room. "I think Kanba can handle this one on his own…" he smiles down at Goten. "Now come on. Let's go find Kori and get you fixed up."

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"Graaaaah!"

Kanba leaps forward at Kotaroh's outstretched fist, sending a bolt of electrical energy straight into his arm. He cringes, stepping back and clutching his tingling arm. Taking it as a distraction, Kanba goes to kick him, only to have his leg grabbed by the very same arm within seconds, Kotaroh tossing him through the air. He skids across the floor, regaining his footing and facing the beast-man once more.

"H…how did you…" he pants.

"Heh, don't make me laugh, boy." Kotaroh growls. "You're going to have to do a little better than a little static cling if you mean to beat ME!"

He lunges at the long-haired boy, slashing at his exposed chest with his sharp claws. Kanba cringes at the sudden sting of pain, stumbling backward slightly.

_Damn…_he thinks, quickly trying to plan his strategy. _That battle on the roof sapped most of my energy…My lightning isn't strong enough as I am now…_

"What's wrong, son of Rawstberi?" Kotaroh taunts. "Not strong enough to wield your father's greatest creation? THEN WHY NOT HAND IT OVER TO SOMEONE MORE WORTHY!" he screams, charging at him once more.

Kanba leaps into the air just in time, narrowly avoiding Kotaroh's claws and sending the massive beast sprawling onto the ground where he stood a moment ago. Kotaroh grits his teeth as Kanba grins and hovers above him, knowing full well the ursarine feline is far too heavy to make the jump high enough to meet him.

_Perfect…if I can just stay out of his reach long enough to recharge…_

Kanba's plan is cut short, however, as Kotaroh manages to find his own way up, using his panda-like climbing skills to make his way up one of the poles that holds the ceiling up. Kanba is shocked when the beast-man jumps from his post and manages to strike him, the massive paw crashing into his face sending him plummeting towards the ground below. Before he has the chance to get to his feet, Kotaroh uses his own immense body weight to turn his body into a cannonball, barreling straight downwards directly onto the boy.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" he screams, pinned beneath the weight of the massive cat. "Gaaaahhhk!" he struggles for breath, spitting up blood as Kanba presses his weight further onto his body.

"How does it feel to be completely outclassed, boy!" Kotaroh taunts at him again. "Completely helpless, unable to defend yourself…" his eyes grow intense. "Just like your father was when I killed him."

At the sound of the words, Kanba's expression becomes enraged, his eyes widening and then tightening. Lightning crackles around him, and for just an instant he is able to summon enough strength to shove the beast-man off of him, rising once again to his feet.

"Yes, that's more like it…" Kotaroh growls. "What's wrong, did I upset you? Then do something about it…" he grins. "SHOW ME YOUR FULL POWER! SHOW ME THE FULL POWER OF THE STRONGEST MODAMP EVER CREATED!"

"SHUT UP!" Kanba screams, summoning a burst of energy enough to shake the entire tower once again. At the realization of the storm still raging outside, his amulet reacts, drawing the electrical energy emanating through the air directly into his body. "JUST SHUT UP! I'LL NEVER LET YOU HAVE THIS!"

"Yes…" Kotaroh's eyes widen in excitement as Kanba's power continues to burst forth, increasing exponentially as he absorbs the electrical energy. "THAT'S IT! SHOW ME HOW MUCH POWER YOU CAN DRAW IN!"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Kanba shouts at the top of his lungs, his entire body quaking with power.

On the other side of the room, Trunks and Kori stand over a wounded Goten, trying to bandage his wounds with shreds of cloth from the fallen beast's cloaks. As the tower begins to shake, they hold on for dear life, fearing to even approach Kanba at the sight of his body glowing with electrical energy. The ceiling begins to crumble, slowly, rubble hitting the floor as the walls begin to crack on all sides of them.

"W-What's going on!" Kori asks in a panic.

"It's the same thing he did before…" Trunks remarks. "He's somehow absorbing the energy of the lightning outside into his body…Dammit, if he keeps this up it'll rip straight through this building! Is he trying to kill us all!"

"Kanba…kun…" Goten murmurs, barely even conscious himself.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here!" Trunks shouts, grabbing Kori's arm and slinging Goten's limp body over his shoulder as he makes for the exit.

"B-but what about Kanba!" Kori shouts, glancing in the long-haired boy's direction. "We can't leave him behind!"

"We don't have a choice!" Trunks barks at her. "He knows what he's doing! We just have to trust him to—" He pauses as Goten begins to stir, struggling to move on his own. "What? Goten, stop trying to move! You're hurt!"

"Trunks…kun…" he cringes in pain, trying to get off the older boy and support his own weight.

"GOTEN!" Trunks panics when Goten manages to stand, sucking in a deep breath before limping off in Kanba's direction. "Dammit, not this again!" he shouts, having no choice but to go after the boy.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Kanba bellows, a strike of lightning ripping straight through the roof and shooting directly into his body. In that instant, a massive wave of destructive energy releases itself all around him, radiating from all sides. "Shut…up…" he manages before his body gives out, the power proving to be too much as he collapses to the ground below in a heap, unconscious.

Goten and Trunks manage to reach him just in time, grabbing him and pulling him out of the way as a huge chuck of ceiling crashes onto the very spot where the long-haired boy was standing. Trunks hands Goten's body over to Kori to carry out as he drapes Kanba across his shoulders and the two make for the exit as quickly as possible.

"Dammit, all these freakin' stairs again!" Trunks curses as they make the mad dash to escape the crumbling building.

Fortunately, they had already made it halfway down the tower during the first threat of its collapse and it isn't long before they reach the exit, making it out in the nick of time.

"K-K-Kotaroh-sama!" Turcoon yells, holding onto the wall for support. "We've got to get out of here!" but Kotaroh isn't listening. So enraptured is he by the tremendous outputs of power that he remains where he is, laughing maniacally as the tower comes down around him, crushing them both to death therein.

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Just outside in the Slum Sector of Satan City, Trunks and Kori watch in shock as the entire Lost Complex collapses into itself. Presuming their enemies, still trapped inside, to be dead, the two breathe a sigh of relief, setting down the unconscious boys and tending to them the best they can.

"It's no use, we'll have to get them to a hospital!" Trunks finally says.

"In Satan City! It's past midnight!" Kori reminds him. "We're already weak, and we'd never be able to fend off the junkies and goons that hang out in these alleys AND protect these two! We'd never get there in time!"

"Well Dammit, we've got to do something!" Trunks yells…pausing as he remembers something. "Wait a second…" he says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his capsule case.

"A capsule case?" Kori asks. "Do you have a first-aid kit in there or something?"

"Better." Trunks grins, tossing a capsule onto the ground where it pops open with a puff of smoke. A small brown bag tied with a string appears, and the boy bends to pick it up, laughing. "I forgot I had these with me!"

"A little bag!" Kori asks in confusion. "What in the world…?" she's even more perplexed when Trunks empties the contents of the bag into his open palm, counting 5 tiny green seeds. "Little…beans! What the Hell, Trunks! Kanba's heart rate is dropping by the minute and Goten could very well BLEED to death! A little bean isn't going to—"

"Watch and learn." He smiles, leaning over Goten's unconscious body. "Here, Goten. Chew." He says, placing the seed into the boy's mouth and forcing his jaw to make the necessary movements.

Cupping his palms, he gathers a small amount of water from a puddle, enough to assist the boy in swallowing. Kori looks on in shock when a moment later the boy rises to his feet, completely rejuvenated.

"Wha…what the!" she shouts.

"Trunks-kun!" Goten yells, looking around and trying to regain his bearings. "Where are…"

"The tower collapsed. Those guys inside are dead." Goten's eyes widen.

"K-Kanba-ku—"

"He's fine." Trunks says, pointing to the other boy's unconscious body. "Guess the strain he put on himself was too much, after all. Hold on." He says, walking over to the boy and repeating the process. After a second, his eyes spring open, taking a moment to realize his surroundings. "Hey."

"What…what…" he stammers, running a hand over his body. "I'm…I'm OK? But…what did you—"

"They're called Senzu." Trunks answers, holding out his palm with the three other seeds.

"An old friend of my dad's grows 'em up on his tower." Goten says, pointing up into the sky. "Eating one is equal to eating 10 days worth of food…not to mention that they completely heal all injuries."

"In…incredible…" Kanba gasps in astonishment, standing and testing the effectiveness of his own movements. "It's true, I can move again! I'm completely recharged! To think that something like this could exist on a planet like Earth…" at the words, Goten's eyes widen, reminding him that the boy owes him a lot of answers. Trunks balks a bit as Goten pushes him aside, walking over to and standing face-to-face with the long-haired boy.

"Kanba-kun…who are you?" he asks, his eyes narrowing and his tone becoming serious.

"Wh…What?" Kanba asks, taking a step back.

"Who ARE you!" Goten asks again, stepping in closer and backing the taller boy up against the side of a brick wall. "What do you mean 'that something like this could exist on a planet like Earth'!" he steps in closer still. "How do you know about my dad! How do you know about Super Saiyajin! And about me an' Trunks-kun!" Sweat rolls down Kanba's face as the dark-haired boy grabs the chain around his neck, pulling him down closer to him. "What's the real reason that you enrolled in our high school! Joined our class! BROUGHT US INTO THIS TOWER!"

"Goten, chill…" Trunks says, stepping up to his friend and trying to calm him down.

But Goten isn't listening. Kanba steps backward again, finding no additional ground to retreat to as his naked back presses up against the cold brick wall. Goten leans in even closer, moving so that they are nose to nose. Kanba can see rage and confusion, all at once, boiling in the depths of the other boy's eyes as he shouts directly in his face…

"**WHO THE HELL ARE YOU, KANBA!**"

-END OF CHAPTER 10-

-END OF IGNO VOLUME 2-


	12. Chapter 11

Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Chapter 11

"Confrontation! The Tragic History of Kanba"

Notes-

Alright, folks. What you are about to read is perhaps the single most important chapter of IGNO I have ever written-and in that I am including the chapters up to 32 that I only have written by hand. I want EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU who reads this to give me at least SOME kind of a review when you finish this chapter, understand? We've made it 11 chapters into this crazy fic, and now you're FINALLY going to learn the truth about Kanba. Yeah, you already found out he had supernatural powers in Chapter 4. You even found out he was Saiyajin in Chapter 6. And throughout, specifically in Chapters 9 and 10, you found out that that unusual necklace he wears around his neck SOMEHOW has the amazing ability to let him control electrical energy. But still, honestly, you all KNOW that even if you pretend, you don't know the first thing about this guy, and it is driving you CRAZY. Hehehe…my intentions, all along. Well now that you've gotten to know his character a little bit, decided whether you like him or hate him, it's time for you to learn…the truth. A note as to the actual WRITING of this chapter, well, I can tell now before I even get started that this is going to be a BITCH to write, having to dump this huge exposition of information and still make it interesting…it's going to be mostly narrative (which will be in italics to make it easier to understand), and flashbacks…Oh, and, to understand some of the content of this chapter…er, it may be helpful to refer back to Dragonball Z Episode #20 "The Saiyajin Legend Resurfaces! Gokou's Roots" (Saiyajin Saga, the one where Kaioh-Sama tells Gokou the story of the Saiyajin, the same one where Gokou has to bonk Gregory the Cricket on the head with a mallet, you know…) and review that if you don't remember the story about the war that took place of Vegetasei before Freeza's reign…I'll be reviewing that within the chapter itself, much the way I used actual events from the series as well as my own original material in the prologue, but still, I recommend watching that again…and…for you dub fans, I THINK (correct me if I'm wrong on this one) the dub name given to that specific race of people I identify as Tsufurujin is…(cringe) "Tuffle" or something like that…right? You know, those guys with the amazing technology and the really colorful poofy hairstyles…Well if that helps get the meaning across…yeah. For those who didn't know that, like the Saiyajin pun being on VEGETABLES (and if you haven't figured out Kanba's name being a pun on CUCUMBER yet, my friends, you are IDIOTS), Tsufurujin are puns on fruits (another thing GT screwed up by naming the "last Tsufurujin" BEBI…and that's beside the fact that Tsufurujin did not look like some reject from the old toothpaste commercials), so see if you can figure out some of the names in here, particularly Kanba's father and younger brother. Um…Well, not much else to say, the chapter should speak for itself. I urge you all to pay EXPLICIT attention to the details of this chapter, and please…give me at least a LITTLE bit of a review, alright? This is of the utmost importance to the entire story, and will set the stage for the first actual Saga of IGNO-which shall begin in Chapter 12. Enjoy-and I hope you like reading, because this one is a DOOSY.

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman 8/9/06

"Answer me, Damn you!"

Goten stands, nose-to-nose with Kanba, an expression of sheer unbridled rage gripping his face. Kanba remains motionless, sweat dripping down his brow as he is finally faced with the confrontation he knew had been inevitable from the first moment they met.

"Who the Hell ARE you!" Goten screams at the top of his lungs. "What's going on around here! First you attack me at my house, in the middle of the night! Then, as if nothing ever happened, you just happen to find a reason to invite me and Trunks-kun to this all-but-unknown building here, JUST in time for a little party-crash by these freaks, who you apparently have some kind of HISTORY with!" he grabs the chain around the long-haired boy's neck and pulls it tight, dragging the boy even closer to him. "And THIS thing! I don't know WHAT the Hell is the deal with this, or why everyone is apparently after it…but it's apparently all connected to the reason you tried to KILL me, and the reason you somehow know all about Saiyajin! SO WHAT IS IT!"

"…" Kanba lowers his head, trying not to look the boy in the eyes.

"I'M NOT JOKING AROUND WITH YOU ANYMORE!" Goten screams, jarring the other boy across the face.

"Goten!" Trunks cries from the sidelines, his friend's sudden harsh behavior startling him. "There's no need for—"

"SHUT UP, TRUNKS-KUN!" Goten shouts back, turning to face the lavender-haired boy before looking back at Kanba before him. "You have NO idea the Hell this guy has put me through! And I think I deserve to know WHY!"

"I'll…" Kanba sighs in resignation, his hand moving to shove Goten's off of him. "I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything." He says, stepping back a bit. "But…" his eyes suddenly become very serious, a deep sadness visible beneath them that the others had yet to see in him. "You have to believe me, everything that I did here was for good reason! I'm sorry I attacked you…put you through this Hell, but…" he cringes. "But…it was the only way I could be SURE, that I…"

"…" Goten's eyes soften slightly, gazing at the long-haired boy curiously but being certain to keep his wits about him. "Well…we're listening, Kanba…k-kun." he adds, a bit shaky on attaching the honorific to his name.

"First of all, as I'm sure you've already figured out…" Kanba trails off, a bit apprehensive for a moment before he reaches behind him. Tearing a small strip off the back of his pants, he frees his tail, wagging it out in plain view of the others. Their eyes widen, now one-hundred percent certain of Kanba's racial orientation.

"A t-t-tail!" Trunks stammers, pointing at the furry appendage. Kanba nods.

"That's right."

"HOLD THE PHONE HERE!" Kori screams, alerting the boys to the fact that she has been standing there all along.

"Oh, crap, we forgot about here again…" Trunks curses, slapping his forehead.

"Now wait, this is just TOO messed up!" Kori cries. "First, YOU GUYS have superpowers…" she points to Goten and Trunks. "Then, Kanba turns out to be being chased by some crazy BEAST-MEN, and now HE'S got a tail! Just what is going ON here!"

"Listen, Kori-chan…" Goten sighs, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "When we told you before, about our abilities…we weren't exactly telling you the WHOLE truth." He lowers an eyebrow, turning to Trunks. "See, the REASON we're so strong, and that we can do stuff like that so easily, is because we're not exactly…COMPLETELY human."

"…What?" she says, surprisingly calmly.

"Well, what he means to say, Kori, is that…" Trunks picks up, pacing the ground in front of the girl. "My dad…and Goten's dad…they're both part of an ancient race known as Saiyajin, who were adept at fighting above all else. They live here on Earth now, but, they weren't exactly…BORN on this planet…" he scratches his head, the entire situation becoming a bit awkward to explain. "They ended up hookin' up with human women on this planet-our mothers-and as a result…we were born…" As he continues to go on, Kori appears more confused than anything else.

"So…you…" she points at him, the at Goten. "And Goten-chan…are both…HALF-ALIEN?"

"Well, I guess if ya wanna look at it that way…" Goten says, a sweatdrop forming on his face.

"So, what does that have to do with this?" she says, turning to Kanba. "And why does Kanba-kun have a TAIL?"

"Yeah, back to that, now…" Goten murmurs. "So you really ARE Saiyajin…I was right in my suspicions all along…"

"Correct. I DO have Saiyajin blood flowing in my veins, as I knew the two of you had, as well." Goten's eyes widen at the implication that Kanba was knowledgeable of that fact the entire time. "And, like the two of you, I'm not full-blooded. I'm a half-breed."

"Half-breed?" Trunks asks. He looks over at Kori who stands, jaw wide open and completely speechless on the situation.

"Yes, well…only half of my lineage is Saiyajin. As for the other half, well…" he turns to the group, his gaze lingering slightly longer on the stunned Kori. "C-could you all sit down?" he asks. "This…is going to take a while." They nod, taking their seats on the cool concrete against the side of the fence just outside of where Lost Complex stood only moments ago. "Y-you might not believe some of what I'm about to tell you, but I swear…I swear from the bottom of my heart, on the honor of my people, that everything I'm about to tell you is true…this…" he turns his head slightly, tears welling in his eyes. "This isn't easy for me to tell, but…" he cranes his head skyward, sighing deeply as he begins.

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_It all started about 7 years ago, but this story begins long ago before that, with a story I'm sure you have both been told before…_

_Long ago there was a planet known only as Plantsei…the planet was divided among the two races of people who inhabited it-the Tsufurujin, a race of peace-loving people who were skilled in the arts of science and technology…and the Saiyajin, a race of apelike brutes who loved fighting above all else. Both races, being so completely different, didn't get along very well and it wasn't long before they were both set to engage in all-out war over control of the planet…_

"What do you think you're doing!" shouts a small man equipped with highly-advanced body armor. A fleet of tanks rears up behind him and explosions can be heard in the background. "We can't afford to take any chances! We have to launch a full-scale attack on them!"

"But sir!" cries another man from within one of the tanks. "We've already suffered heavy casualties! Just this morning alone we've lost more than half of our fleet to those monsters! They're too much for even our most advanced ground-combat troops!"

"Dammit!" curses the first man, hoisting a positron rifle over his shoulder. "Well we've got to do SOMETHING! We can't just let those Saiyajin bastards overrun our entire society!"

_And so, the war raged on…after a while, the Tsufurujin were able to regroup and come up with more advanced strategies than the Saiyajin, who preferred to just charge onto the battlefield without any forethought…And for a while, the advanced weaponry and battle system technology of the Tsufurujin managed to gain the upper-hand over the Saiyajin, and it even appeared that they would win the war._

_However, everything changed on one night…_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" screams rip through the night air as crowds of Tsufurujin flee for their lives.

"What the Hell is that!" cries a battle commander, leading his ground troops behind him. "R-r-ready your fire on my command, men!" he stammers, preparing for the unexpected…but being greeted with the unbelievable as, one after another, a group of gigantic apes towers over the army, destroying everything in their wake. "F-F-FIRE!" he shouts, and upon command the furious bullets stream forth into the crowd of beasts. However, all means are ineffective and they are all instantly decimated by a mighty mouth-blast from one of the oversized primates.

"T-t-those can't…possibly…be…the S-S-S-Saiya…jin…"

_As the Tsufurujin soon discovered, the Saiyajin could transform into gigantic were-apes at the first light of the full moon…with their powers increased tenfold in such a state, even the most advanced weaponry of the Tsufurujin was rendered completely useless and, in the course of one night, every last Tsufurujin on the planet was wiped out._

_Of course…_

_As with all races, there exists good as well as evil. While outwardly, most of the Saiyajin on the planet appeared bloodthirsty and warlike, there were some who preferred the peaceful lifestyle of the Tsufurujin and would have rather coexisted on the planet with them rather than engage in that senseless war…though, as small as the number of those Saiyajin was, their voices were ignored, deemed useless, weak, and a discredit to the entire race._

_Still…_

_Under the cover of night, in secrecy, this small group of Saiyajin formed their own clan, determined to stop the war at all costs. They went to the Tsufurujin city, proclaiming that they came peacefully…but the Tsufurujin were, with good reason, distrustful of these Saiyajin, seeing only a potential trap lying in wait for them. They refused to open their gates, and once again, these peaceful Saiyajin were turned away._

_However, while the majority of the Tsufurujin were brought up to distrust and hate the Saiyajin, much in the way all Saiyajin were born and raised to fight and kill, there were a small few Tsufurujin who decided to trust these Saiyajin They came together and met with one another, and reached an agreement-that each side would try one last time to persuade the rest of their race to put a stop to the war, and settle an agreement to live and coexist in peace._

_But neither the Saiyajin nor the Tsufurujin were listening. Each side was building its own armies, increasing their strength for the final conflict over control of Plantsei._

_Seeing that all hope of their races reaching agreement, the Union of SaiyaTsufuru Relations despaired…it seemed inevitable that by the end of the war only one of the races would remain standing, the other doomed to extinction._

_So, the Union reached a decision of their own-to leave Plantsei behind and set off on their own, to colonize their own planet and live in peace. They knew that were they to stay, their lives would be in grave danger…so, combining their forces together, using Saiyajin might and Tsufurujin technology, they built enough spaceships to transport the entire Union as far away from Plantsei and the war as possible. They set coordinates to an uninhabited world, rich with the resources necessary for survival, and decided that they would rebuild their societies and live in peace-leaving the rest of the Saiyajin and Tsufurujin to their folly, and the eventual downfall of both races._

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"So, wait…" Goten sits up, leaning forward enough for his eyes to meet with Kanba's. "You're saying that there was a group of Saiyajin and Tsufurujin PILGRIMS who left the planet during the middle of the war?"

"That's correct." Kanba responds. "That's the story as it is told by my people."

"So…" Trunks breaks in. "I know the story from the Saiyajin side, as my dad has told it to me…after the war ended, the Tsufurujin were thought to be completely wiped out…with the planet under their rule, the Saiyajin renamed the planet Plantsei into 'Vegetasei', and it wasn't long after that that they went into the planet pirating business under Freeza…" he turns to Kanba. "Then, Freeza destroyed Vegetasei, saying it was an asteroid collision responsible for its destruction…and only four Saiyajin remained alive-mine and Goten's dads being two of those four."

"Is that right?" Kanba asks curiously. "To be honest, I know nothing about what happened to Plantsei after the Union left it, other than the fact that eventually the rest of the Saiyajin were destroyed as well…I had always assumed they both wiped each other out during the war…"

"Either way…" Goten starts. "…It means that what Trunks-kun's dad and the others believed to be true-that the four of them were the only Saiyajin left-was actually wrong, and there were other Saiyajin still living on another planet that entire time…"

"I suppose so." Kanba shrugs. "But to continue with my tale…"

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_Able to successfully land on their new planet, the Union wasted no time in rebuilding a replica society on the world, which they named New Plantsei. Buildings and clothing and all the cultural ways of life of both the Saiyajin and Tsufurujin races soon intermingled and created their own mixed society-it became loosely known as 'Saifurujin'._

_Likewise with the melding of their cultures, the Saiyajin and Tsufurujin were still only small in number, and needed to repopulate the new planet. Rather than having the Saiyajin pair off with just Saiyajin, or only have Tsufurujin mate with other Tsufurujin as were the ways back on old Plantsei, as a way of renouncing their old societies the Saiyajin and Tsufurujin ushered in their new world by interbreeding, mixing the Saiyajin and Tsufurujin blood in their young. As you may have guessed by now…I am a result of such mixed-breeding. I'm half Saiyajin, but I'm also half Tsufurujin._

_And so, the Saifurujin set up a peaceful way of life on their new world. They had everything they needed right on the planet; the Saiyajin, with their natural-born strength, hunted and gathered their food, and also farmed their own crops. Meanwhile, the pursuit of science and knowledge continued from where the Tsufurujin had left off in their old society. They set themselves apart from the issues of the rest of the universe, which is perhaps why they fell out of the loop as to what happened to the remaining Saiyajin of old Plantsei…they were completely absorbed in their own lifestyle, and were out-of-sight, out-of-mind from the rest of the universe. Truly, it was a paradise._

_Until…one day…I'll never forget it as long as I live. It was about seven years ago, now, so I was just a little over ten years old…_

"Aniki!"

A little boy comes running into a vast field of vegetables, drawing the attention of an older boy. The older boy sets down a basket of vegetables as the child runs up to him excitedly.

"Aniki! Aniki!" he calls happily, affectionately appealing to his older brother.

"What is it, N'yan?" the older boy asks, returning to his work. "I'm working right now. These crops have to be harvested by the end of the day!"

"I know that, but, Kanba-Aniki, you have to come see, nya!" the younger boy, N'yan, chimes again, pointing off into the distance behind them. "They found something on the other side of town, nya! Somethin' really STRANGE!"

"Can it wait until later?" Kanba asks, a bit annoyed. "I'm busy with—"

"The Elders sent me to come get EVERYONE an' bring 'em to town, nya!" N'yan assures him. "Even 'Tousan said, 'go to the field and bring Kanba back here'! So ya gotta COME, nya!" he says, grabbing his older brother's arm and trying to drag him along. Kanba sighs, setting the basket down again and resigning himself.

"Alright, alright…let's go see what all the fuss is about."

_So, I left my work in the vegetable field at the request of my younger brother. We took off as fast as we could back to the city on foot, but we were so far away that it had to have taken us at least an hour to get back…however, I'll never forget the first sight that greeted my eyes the next time I set foot into that city…_

"What…" Kanba gasps, his eyes wide with fear. "W-what's…going on here!" he clutches his little brother close, the younger boy shuddering in fear. "N'yan…you didn't tell me that…"

"Kotaroh-sama!" a voice booms, addressing a large cloaked figure who stands at the head of a troupe of men. "We've found some more in hiding just on the outskirts of town! They look pretty healthy!"

"Good…" Kotaroh growls, sounding pleased. "Lead them to the camp with the rest of them."

"Yes, sir!" Kanba cringes, holding N'yan close and ducking back behind the side of a building to observe unseen.

"Aniki…" N'yan whines, curling closer to his older brother.

"This is terrible…this is…"

"Hey, who's there!" a nearby voice shouts. Kanba jumps, clasping his free hand over his mouth and cursing himself for not keeping silent. "Speak up and come out or I'll have to bring you about FORCEABLY!"

"Aniki…" N'yan says in a panic before Kanba can silence him.

"I KNEW IT!" the soldier shouts, firing a gun into the air. The boys jump in fear as they are found and dragged out of hiding. "Feh, just a couple of kids…" the soldier groans. "Well, no matter, we'll find a use for you yet…" he says, dragging the terrified brothers off into the distance.

_Before I even understood what was going on, it was already too late. N'yan and I were brought into some sort of labor camp, forced to work non-stop all night and day with only enough food and water to sustain us…we were regularly beaten and were never given breaks, working until our hands were chapped and bloody, and only stopping when we either collapsed with hunger or exhaustion. When one of the laborers around us couldn't take it anymore, he would simply collapse and die…and a new worker was brought in to replace him. I was only a boy, and yet it was soon abundantly clear to me what had happened. Our peaceful, non-violent planet had been enslaved._

_Being a pacifistic race had its fare share of benefits…our resources were always spent on tools rather than weapons, greater benefiting our daily lives…disagreements were settled peacefully, and there was no war…but only when we were enslaved did we learn that a society COMPLETELY without a means to defend itself could be just as harmful as one founded on nothing but violence, as the Saiyajin of old had been. Without a way to fight back, our race was soon crushed under the might of this more powerful race, who identified themselves as Chimerajin._

_The Chimerajin were truly unlike any creatures we had ever seen. Most of them walked upright, and their bodies were structured similarly to ours, but their facial and body features were far more animalistic. Beyond just having tails, many of them had horns, furry ears, even whiskers, claws and wings. They were hideous, horrible monsters, and their strength was unbelievable. There was no way that anyone on our planet could ever have a change of standing against them…so, to keep our lives, we spent our days working as slaves._

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"Wait a sec…" Goten asks, once again interrupting the boy's story. "Then those 'Chimerajin' guys that enslaved you…those were the same guys that attacked us tonight, right?"

"Yes. Those were only a few of their lower soldiers, though. But even those lowlifes, to our race which had never enforced violence…we would have been killed on the spot had we not obeyed and worked as we were told."

"But why did they take you as slaves to begin with?" Trunks asks. "I mean, it's my understanding through the stories my father has told me of back when he was a planet pirate that most of the time, if a planet was invaded by an outside source, all life would be exterminated and the planet would be mined of its resources…I've never heard of an entire race being taken as slaves before."

"We were never completely certain of the true reason…" Kanba replies. "But it was our understanding that the Chimerajin WERE indeed after our planet's rich resources. However, rather than waste their own manpower to work the planet, wouldn't it have made more sense to just use the planet's natives to do the work FOR them?"

"Huh, guess you've got a good point…" Trunks muses.

"Either way…"

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_We continued to do as we were told and worked as slaves to the Chimerajin for about two years. We didn't get many benefits, naturally, but as long as we got food, water, and most importantly, our LIVES…we didn't ask any questions, and we didn't try to fight back. Eventually, we got used to it and, to a child like me, the old days before the Chimerajin arrived were nothing but a blur. It became our way of life, and all in all, most of us simply tolerated it, knowing that the harder we worked and the more we turned up to our rulers, the more lenient they would be on us._

_Still…to the adults…specifically, to the adults that risked their lives to flee old Plantsei and found this new society from the ground up…they couldn't just take it lying down. For all their hard work, someone else was profiting, and I guess to the adults and the elders that was a big deal, indeed. There has always been talk of an uprising; a rebellion and a plan to take our planet back. But it was all talk, no action. Even if they HAD been brave enough to challenge the Chimerajin, they'd never have been strong enough._

_I got my Saiyajin blood from my mother. I don't remember he too well, as I was quite young when she died, giving birth to N'yan. My father raised the two of us on his own-he was Tsufurujin, and even more than that, he was one of their leading scientists and developers. He had been responsible for a vast amount of the technology we used in our daily lives before the Chimerajin took over and exploited it. My father's genius was unparalleled and he was hailed throughout the planet as being perhaps the greatest genius our two races had ever seen. His name was Rawstberi._

"Rawstberi!"

A tall, bearded man looks up from his desk as a soldier enters into the room through an automatic door. It is a massive laboratory, all manner of fantastic machines working and testubes bubbling over with various concoctions. The man drops a pencil onto his desk, littered with sheets of paper and lists of various scientific formulas in the works. He turns to face the Chimerajin soldier, his grizzly-bear face almost completely concealed by a large helmet.

"Is there a problem, sir?" he asks in a calm docile tone.

"A little bit." The soldier responds. "Our forces in the field have droppin' like flies over the past few days, what with this sweltering weather…" he says, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. "We're in desperate need of more manpower out there, but they simply don't have the strength to work, the dirty dogs…" Rawstberi grits his teeth slightly at the last remark.

"I understand that, sir." He says, trying to suppress the harshness in his eyes before his superior. "But I need a little more time to get the bugs all worked out. Kotaroh-sama said he would give me until 3 days from now for the deadline of—"

"Deadline nothing!" the soldier growls, wiping a few of the glass tubes off a shelf with a paw and breaking them on the floor below. "I've got new orders for you, directly from Kotaroh-sama himself! We need those farming machines done by nightfall!"

"What!" Rawstberi gasps. "TONIGHT? But there's no WAY that's enough time for me to—"

"Listen, Rawstberi, you've got a pretty sweet deal, here." The soldier points out. "Unlimited access to this state-of-the-art lab, air-conditioning, a more efficient meal plan for those brats of yours…" he growls. "Don't blow it by trying to go against Kotaroh-sama's orders. If you don't shape up, YOU could be workin' out in those fields with the rest of your poor excuse for a race, under this blazing sun." he knocks a few more glass tubes onto the floor as he retreats to the exit, turning back to Rawstberi one final time. "Nightfall. And don't forget, it's not just YOUR life, but the lives of those BRATS of yours, that are in your hands…" he sneers before exiting the lab.

"Damn you…" Rawstberi curses, clenching his fists. "Kotaroh!"

_My father was treated far better than the rest of the Saifurujin on the grounds that his brilliance was needed to develop further technology for the Chimerajin. As a result, N'yan and I were also treated better than the other children, who deplored us for it. As if it was our fault. We worked just as hard as everyone else by day in the fields, but we were allowed beds to sleep in at night, under the roof of an actual HOUSE rather than the dirt shacks the rest of the workers got. We were given more nutritious food, allowed to eat a share of the crops we harvested rather than being fed the spoiled vegetables…we were even given breaks and allowed to visit with our father. Unfortunately for most of the other children, they were separated from their parents and not allowed to see them unless they were working in the field next to them-for all they knew, their parents weren't even alive anymore. Knowing that, and knowing that I was more fortunate just for that reason…it really made me hate myself._

_That guy, Kotaroh…he was in charge of our division, and he was the one who personally oversaw all my father's operations. He kept a close personal watch on N'yan and myself, as well, so I knew him somewhat personally. He was incredibly strong. And yet…apparently he wasn't even considered one of the strongest among the Chimerajin. Apparently he had a number of higher-ups whom he answered to. There were labor camps like these all across the planet, and these others were in charge of their own, so I only saw glimpses of them, once or twice…and the one that was the apparent ruler of ALL the Chimerajin…I heard that no one had ever seen him with their own eyes, even the likes of Kotaroh or the other overseers. I only knew that he lived in his own personal castle which he had built on the other side of the planet…and I only heard his name spoken once-Seiryuu._

_I didn't know too much about the Chimerajin, and I don't think anyone else did, either. Not even the original pilgrims from Old Plantsei had ever heard of a race called 'Chimerajin' before…they were completely unknown. We were never told the reasons their apparent leader had for enslaving our planet to begin with, or why their whole operation was so secretive…to have a leader that even his own people had never seen? It always seemed a bit fishy to me. Still, I kept my nose out of these matters and minded my work…_

"Aniki?"

N'yan sits up, looking over at the bed next to him and the sleeping boy within.

"Aniki, are you awake, nya?" he asks softly. The voice stirs the other boy away and Kanba stretches, sitting up in his bed and rubbing the remnants of sleep from his eyes.

"Nnnn…" he groans. "What is it, N'yan?"

"Aniki…" N'yan begins. "Do you ever wonder what's on the other side of that big fence? You know...the one that keeps us inside this camp, nya?"

"The same thing that was always out there, before the fence even existed. Before these CAMPS existed. Before the Chimerajin showed up." Kanba grumbles, still half-asleep. "You lived on this planet for four years before they came here, you should know what's on the other side…" he yawns, turning over on his side and trying to go back to sleep.

"No, nya, I don't mean like THAT…" N'yan goes on, determined to keep his brother awake. "I mean…do you ever wonder what THEY have on the other side?"

"Yeah…more camps. They've got everyone on the planet workin' for 'em."

"But…"

N'yan has now moved from his own bed to his brother's, the younger boy kneeling over him enough to wake Kanba for good this time. He sighs and sits up, realizing N'yan won't leave him alone until he's satisfied with his questions.

"Do you ever wonder about…the CASTLE?" at the sound of the words, Kanba's eyes widen. "N'yan, keep your voice down!" he whispers harshly. "Why are you even thinking about that stuff! You know you're not allowed to say anything like that, you'll get us all in trouble!"

"But, nya…" N'yan curls closer to his brother. "I've never seen a castle before…haven't you ever wondered what it's like, nya?" Kanba pauses for a moment to consider his brother's words, but shakes his head.

"Of course not!" he whispers loudly. "Now stop thinking about it and go to sleep!" he growls, turning to face the wall and returning to his own sleep.

"OK…" N'yan yawns, stretching and crawling back into his own bed. "Good night, Aniki."

"…"

_I should have known to worry after that night. N'yan had always been curious. Whenever we'd go out hunting or foraging, he'd always stray from the path, and I often lost track of him. When I'd find him, he'd tell me he was just chasing a bug, trying to find out where it lived, or that he was following the stream to see where it emptied out…innocent things like that. But it was his innocent curiosity the ended up being…_

"Hey, you guys?"

The bright sun shines down in the vegetable field, the intense rays causing the workers to pant from heat exhaustion and working under such conditions. In a somewhat shadier corner, a group of young boys work, tilling at the land with what appear to be a sort of mechanized advanced hoe.

"Well look, if it isn't little mister spoiled." One of the boys says through clenched teeth, turning back to his work.

"Yeah, he must be on his BREAK if he's able to stop working and come over to see US." says another.

"It's not LIKE that, you guys! I was working just as hard as you! It's just…" his eyes grow worried. "H-have you guys seen my little brother N'yan around here anywhere? I haven't seen him since this morning, and I don't want him to get in trouble for wandering off…"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sue he'll be fine." the first boy says. "After all wandering off can't be TOO serious an offense for one of the privileged!" the others laugh.

"This is SERIOUS!" Kanba protests.

"Look, all we know is that he said something about a castle and then he snuck off over the fence." One of the boys says, returning to work. Kanba's eyes widen in horror.

"The…Castle! Oh no…N'yan!" he screams, running off into the distance. The boys laugh as he leaves.

"Heh, good luck saving your dead brother!" the second boy shouts. "Even if you ARE privileged, no one's allowed to leave the ranch and LIVE! Hahahahaha!"

_It was true…if N'yan were to be caught outside the ranch, he would be killed, and I knew that more than anything. I couldn't even go after him because then I'd be killed for leaving, as well…and I was too much of a coward back then to risk my life by climbing over that fence. So I did the only thing I could think of, and I told my dad what happened. I blamed myself…I had sworn that I'd protect N'yan with my life, and I failed miserably._

_As soon as I told my father, he snapped. It was the last straw, he told me. Unfortunately, he said that as things were, there was no way anyone could risk going out of the ranch to try to find him…he told me that N'yan may have already been killed. It hurt me…more than any other pain I had ever felt, it hurt me…I felt responsible. My father tried to console me, to tell me it wasn't my fault, and deep down I knew he was right, but still…I couldn't face my own reflection after that happened._

"Kanba…"

Kneeling on the floor of the lab, bent to the height of his son, Rawstberi pats the boy on the head.

"I promise, we'll get your brother back…but first…" he whispers. "There's something I need to tell you…" he tosses a quick glance at the door as if afraid someone might enter at any given time. "But you need to promise me, above all else, that you won't tell a SOUL. Do you understand that, Kanba?" the boy only nods in response. "Good…what I'm about to tell you is top-secret…if the Chimerajin were to find out about this, we could all be put to DEATH, so you have to make CERTAIN you keep your lips sealed."

"O-Okay." he nods again.

Rawstberi stands, moving to the other side of the room as Kanba watches curiously. He produces a key from his pocket, turning it in the lock of one of the cabinets and successfully opening it. He motions for Kanba to join him as he pulls out an assortment of machine parts and sets them onto the flat surface of the table.

"Do you see all these parts, Kanba? These are highly-advanced parts the Chimerajin allowed me to work with." He says. "Even our greatest technological advancements had never seen parts like these before they arrived…I have no idea where they came from, but they're amazing, to say the least." He picks up a small gear, turning it in between his fingers. "These are supposed to be used to build more advanced farming equipment for the labor forces, to increase the output of our harvests in the fields and in the mineral mines outside this ranch."

"M…mines?" Kanba asks curiously.

"Yes." Rawstberi replies. "These ranches and farms aren't the only labor forces the Chimerajin have. The strongest Saiyajin, for example, work on mining out minerals on the other side of the planet. I don't know for what purposes the Chimerajin make us work, but they have a number of different labor forces besides just the farmers and crop-harvesters at this ranch." He sets the gear down, fiddling with a few other parts in his hands. "Either way…my job is to use all these parts to advance our machinery even FURTHER. But…" he glances at the door again, his voice lowering to a whisper. "I've come up with some schematics and theories that lead me to believe…I can develop…weapons…out of these parts."

"WEAPONS!" Kanba shouts, Rawstberi quickly slapping a hand over the boy's mouth the silence him.

"Keep your voice down, Kanba!" he orders. "I told you, NO ONE can find out about this!"

"I-I'm sorry…" he frowns. "But…why weapons? I thought that we were taught violence was—"

"Listen, Kanba." Rawstberi begins, keeping his voice low. "I was one of the original Tsufurujin pilgrims who came to this planet from old Vegetasei. Both I and your mother saw the war that wiped out the rest of our races firsthand. It was Hell." He grits his teeth. "Our society was taught, yes, that violence was wrong, and not a solution to anything. We taught peace, above all else, and since the birth of our great civilization on this planet we have lived and prospered without violence." He grabs a handful of the small parts, balling them up in his fist. "But this is different. We thought that if we thrived on violence like the Saiyajin of old, our new race would doom itself inevitably, as well. Truthfully, a peaceful society is best…"

"But at what cost does peace come? At freedom? No…a society riddled with violence is wrong, but one completely without a means to defend itself is no better. Our lack of self-defense is what made us so easy to enslave, my son…if we had taught the methods the ancient Saiyajin used for combat, we could have fought the Chimerajin off as soon as they arrived. If we had used the Tsufurujin technology to develop weapons, we could have defeated them and made them flee our planet. We could have retained our freedom."

"But, instead, we had no choice but to bow down to their might, to become their slaves, their DOGS…spending every waking moment of our lives working for THEIR benefit." He scatters the parts across the table. "But with these…with these I can hope that it's not too late…if my theories are correct, I can develop weapons just strong enough that they can bring out that latent fighting gene within those with Saiyajin blood, and bring out those fighting skills we had long worked so hard to suppress…" he grins. "If I could somehow develop enough to equip everyone with Saiyajin blood on this ranch with, we could destroy this entire camp…and we could move on, liberating our brothers and rebuilding our forces, enough to fight back against them and drive the Chimerajin from our planet…If only I could get this to WORK…"

"But…" Kanba breaks in, careful to keep his voice low. "If you make weapons…won't the Chimerajin find them? Won't you get in trouble?" Rawstberi leans down, scooping the boy up in his arms and sitting him down on the edge of the table.

"Yes…unfortunately, the Chimerajin make it a POINT to inspect every inch of this laboratory from top to bottom, most likely for that very reason…" he muses. "Which is why I need to somehow DISGUISE these weapons to LOOK like farming tools and machines. If I can make it look like these weapons are nothing more than mere ordinary objects…tools, shoes, jewelry, clothing…then at least we can be safe during the developmental stages, with hopes that such objects would be overlooked…" he begins tidying up the table, returning the parts to the lock-box in the cabinet. "Then, we could manage to secretly distribute them amongst the labor forces, and safely bide our time for an opportunity to revolt."

"So…we're going to fight the Chimerajin?"

"Yes." Rawstberi's eyes narrow. "I don't see that we have any other option. We've got to stand up for ourselves, for the first time since our society's birth." He lifts Kanba, setting him back onto the floor below. "I hope you understand, son. It's not that violence itself will solve our problems…but there are times when you're not blessed with a great many options."

_And so, for months, my father secretly worked on this project, on the surface appearing completely obedient to the Chimerajin as always. He called the devices 'Modification Amplifiers', and the main purpose was the enhance the inner energy within the body and imbue a boost of fighting strength. It would be no great use to those without Saiyajin blood, he said, as it would not bestow strength but bring out the latent fighting ability, which he said was inside all Saiyajin from birth. The idea was to allow our nonviolent race to have a fighting chance by bringing the strength the Saiyajin were born with to the surface, even though no one on our planet had any actual combat experience. _

_The weapons were disguised as anything simple that could be carried on the body without arousing suspicion. We weren't allowed to have many personal possessions, so most of what we had was the clothing on our backs-thus, the main models were designed to look like clothing, shoes, and jewelry._

_He worked on the project at every given opportunity. As for me, without N'yan, I had to work twice as hard to make up for my missing brother's share. Still, I didn't look back, forcing myself to become strong enough to carry both of our loads-it was my responsibility, I told myself, for letting my brother down._

_Finally, the day came. My father had completed and managed to, in secret, test out the technology, which wasn't easy with Chimerajin guards constantly stationed outside his laboratory. I was charged with creating a diversion during the test, by starting a riot which would have most likely gotten me killed were I not the 'privileged' son of the head scientist…nonetheless, my father planned to distribute the weaponry the following night and go through with the plans of starting an uprising. Our freedom was so close…_

_However…_

"Ugh!"

Kanba is shoved into a dark room by a pair of Chimerajin soldiers, both armed with guns. The door is shut behind him and he is pushed up against a wall.

"Alright, kid." One of the soldiers says. "You know something, and you're gonna tell us what that something is, or you're gonna die right here and now."

"Wait, are we really gonna kill him?" the second soldier asks. "I thought since he was…you know…"

"Yeah, well the situation's changed." The first replies. "Since Kotaroh-sama found out about that guy's plans for rebellion, he suddenly ain't so special anymore. And that means…" he grins, his pointy teeth glinting as he cocks his gun. "His kid's expendable." Kanba's eyes widen in terror as he has no where to escape to in the closed space of the room. However, just as the soldier is about to fire, there is an explosion outside. "What the Hell?"

"We'd better check it out, come on!" the second soldier says. The first nods, looking back at Kanba. "Sit tight kid, we'll be back for you later." He grins before closing and locking the door behind him, leaving Kanba trapped alone in the tiny shed.

_I don't remember how I got out of that shed, just that when I reached the outside there were bodies all around me, both Chimerajin and Saifurujin. Somehow, my own body and my hands were stained with blood…the war had just begun and already so many had been killed. It didn't seem right; our peaceful, serene planet stained in crimson…_

_I managed to get through the gunfire and the piles of mangled bodies without getting harmed, though I took notice of my father's weapons adorning some of the corpses. He had succeeded, but so many of our own were dead…I didn't understand, no matter how hard I tried. I had never seen violence like this…I had never imagined the carnage of war, and here it was, unfolding before my very eyes. It made me sick, it made me physically sick…I kept wanting to stop, to just run away from it all, but I knew at that point there was nowhere to run. The gates to the ranch had been taken down, but where would I go? The entire planet was a battlefield, now._

_Desperately, I sought out my father, making my way to his lab only to find it empty, the entire contents trashed and destroyed. I did, however, find a note in the desk drawer with my name on it…it was written on a strip of linen bandages; obviously on such short notice he was scrambling for something to write on. I'll never forget a single word of that letter. It was the last message I ever received from my father._

Kanba, my son,

I am in grave danger as I write this note to you, as Kotaroh has discovered my plan. He now plans to steal the technology for himself and, as I feared, not take only my life but wipe out everyone on the planet. Our only choice is to fight, to protect our race…I only wish we had realized this sooner.

I've already been wounded, and it's only a matter of time before they find me. I'm writing this note to you with hopes that you'll discover it before they do, not that it would matter if they find it anyway…we're all doomed.

I'm filled with shame…shame for creating such diabolical weapons. Now, not only will our entire race see its destruction but, well…if the Chimerajin get their hands on this weaponry they could use it to wreak havoc across the entire universe. It's all my fault…I always believe that violence would be the downfall of all who employed it, but I never saw that I could be the cause of such widespread destruction…

I have to finish this quickly. Listen, my son…hidden in the locked trunk you will find what remains of the Modification Amplifiers I created. I want you to take it with you and flee the planet. Get to the other side of the ranch-fearing such an occurrence I formulated a contingency plan, and buried a small space pod underground inside the warehouse where spare tools are kept.

There are shovels there; dig it up and get into it as quickly as you possibly can. I pre-programmed coordinates into it so it should fly you at least far enough off of this God-Forsaken planet. Take with you as many ModAmps as you can possibly carry, and toss the rest into the depths of space-the Chimerajin cannot be allowed to get their hands on them. As for the ones I already distributed, I'm afraid they'll have to pry them from our cold, dead fingers.

I've doomed our race…there is no purpose left for me. I'll die defending my planet as best as I possibly can from my own mad creation. The rest is in your hands…you must find a safe planet to live and continue your own life. Find your own true happiness in the others around you. One day, you will find your place, and when the time comes, you will understand what I say to you now.

But son, please take heed of my final words…do not seek revenge. If its one thing I want to pass on to you it's the belief that violence is truly not the answer…hate brings about only more hate, violence more violence…if you are blinded by rage, seeking revenge against the destroyers of your race, you will only doom yourself and be consumed with violence, plagued with death, until it consumes you…

Goodbye, my son, and good luck. If you never see me again, know only that I love you, and wish you the best in your future…Good luck, and goodbye…

--Rawstberi

_Somehow, he managed to finish his note without being discovered. Between that and the fact that the bloodstains on the strip of cloth glistened, meaning they were still fresh, led me to believe that I had arrived just after he fled, meaning he was most likely still alive. I grabbed the trunk and followed the trail of blood that his wound must have left as he fled…and I was lucky enough to find him…_

_Just as he was being killed. I ducked behind a rock…to this day I still curse myself for my cowardess in not leaping in to defend him, but I was a stupid child…And who stood over his beaten body? None other than Kotaroh himself. I arrived at the tail end of their conversation, so I only heard the last words Kotaroh said to my father…_

"And then, what will you do? This is your final chance…do you agree?" Kotaroh growls.

"Heh…" Rawstberi grins, his face covered with blood. His bones are clearly broken, and he is only barely able to lift his chin and look the beast in the eye. "I've already surrendered. As for the rest, well…you'll just have to wait and see…"

"Very well." Kotaroh says calmly, reaching down and grabbing Rawstberi's broken body and lifting him high into the air.

Kanba watches in horror from behind a boulder, the trunk of ModAmps clutched tightly in his arms. He can't even open his mouth to scream as, before his very eyes, Kotaroh severs his father's very head with a single swipe of his massive paw. As Rawstberi's head rolls across the bloodied ground, seconds before he dies…a smile graces his face. Kotaroh turns and spits on his body.

"…Then you will die like the dog you are." He says, turning away and retreating from the scene.

_I don't even know how long I remained in that spot, my eyes glued to my father's dismembered body…I couldn't speak. My voice was completely gone. I didn't blink, and yet I could feel the warm sting of tears in my eyes…all I could do was replay his note over and over inside my head, his final message to me. I pulled the note from my pocket, my eyes lingering on the last line…'good luck and goodbye'. I tore the strip with that final line and tied it around my forehead. Clutching the trunk to me, I made a run for it all the way to the other side of the ranch, not even stopping to rest. I managed to get to the tool shed without being caught, and it appeared that luck was on my side. It was as if the 'good luck' from my father that was now tied around my head, his final blessing, was protecting me._

_I took the shovel and dug for my life, unearthing the ship. Luckily, it wasn't buried deep, and I wondered how it hadn't already been found as the ground was clearly recently disturbed. Still, I pushed the heavy pod out of the shed, powering it on and climbing inside. I was small enough that I was able to carry the trunk on my lap. And, with that, I fled the planet, leaving my entire life behind-and as that very life crumbled behind my retreating ship…_

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There is a long silence as Kanba finishes his tale. Goten and Trunks are unsure of what to say, not having known that such a cruel fate had befallen the boy, nor the unknown last Saiyajin. Kori, having learned of Saiyajin for the very first time through this conversation, is dumbfounded, but nonetheless just as moved by the boy's tragic tale.

"S…so…" Goten mutters, finally breaking the stark silence. "You…fled your planet…and that's why you came here?"

"Not exactly." Kanba says, his somber tone not broken. "I was only 12 when I fled the planet. My father had programmed random coordinates into the ship, just enough for it to take me somewhere without me knowing how to work the controls…and the first planet I landed on wasn't exactly a peaceful one."

"Oh…" Goten says softly. Kanba's hand moves up and clutches the shoulder of his right arm, the one encased completely in bandages.

"Yes, well…I didn't have very long to learn how to defend myself. And of the trunk full of ModAmps, designed for ADULTS, none of them fit me enough to use…" he sighs. "I was cornered and I thought for sure I would be killed, but…"

"But what?" Trunks asks.

"The strangest thing happened…I think I blacked out, but when I woke up…" he trails off, pausing for a moment. "They were all dead. I guess I must have gotten one of the ModAmps to work, but…I didn't…remember it…"

"Wait a second, then." Kori asks, pointing at Kanba's necklace. "These 'ModAmp' things…so that's what your necklace is?"

"Correct." Kanba says, straightening his chain. "Or rather, it's the pendant…this is what lets me shoot lighting. I'm not sure how it works, my father died before he could explain it to me better, but somehow this particular ModAmp brings my Ki to the surface and fuses it with the property of electricity…"

"So, that's how you did that…" Goten muses, thinking back to both of their battles.

"Yes…" Kanba replies. "But it took me a lot of time and difficulty to master this…I didn't have the first idea how to fight, or to kill, other than what I knew from hunting. I had to train myself extensively to master my own latent powers." His fingers brush against the bandages once more, then to the scar on his left shoulder. "I got into countless battles, and I nearly died time and time again. That's how I got these wounds…I truly think it was my father's good luck charm that kept me alive those five years before I finally landed on Earth." He says, brushing his bangs from his face slightly so his headband can be seen. The characters for the word 'Ganba', for 'Good Luck', are partially visible.

"So, you were alone in space for FIVE years before you got here?" Goten asks.

"What was it that made you decide to come to Earth?" Trunks asks him. "I'm guessing based on the fact that you seemed to be specifically looking for me and Goten that your coming here WASN'T just a coincidence."

"No, that it wasn't…" Kanba sighs deeply. "I came to your planet specifically based on a rumor I heard during my travels through the universe."

"A…rumor?" Goten repeats curiously.

"Yes…I had heard rumors spreading about a warrior of amazing strength…a man that was said not only to be fiercely strong, but kind and pure-hearted as well." Goten's ears perk up slightly as Kanba goes on. "And what interested me even more about this man was the fact that I heard he was Saiyajin."

"S-S-Saiyajin!" Goten gapes, almost certain as to where the boy is headed.

"More than that…they said that he was the first of a rare breed of Saiyajin to emerge within a thousand years…that was the first time I had ever heard of the existence of Super Saiyajin." Kanba cracks his neck. "His name was—"

"Son Gokou." Goten finishes his sentence. "M-my father." Kanba's eyes widen for a moment, but then he smiles.

"Yes. Your father." He says. "I came to this planet in search of him specifically, hoping that if nothing else he could help me avenge my people."

"But I thought you said…" Trunks begins. "That your father told you NOT to seek revenge?"

"…That is what his note said, yes." Kanba grits his teeth, his eyes narrowing. "But I couldn't live with myself if I didn't. I felt like even MORE of a coward, abandoning my people and never looking back…" he sighs. "I felt that, if nothing else, I needed to become strong enough to bring down the Chimerajin…but I knew that I couldn't do it on my own. When I heard of your father…I felt a glimmer of hope."

"But, Kanba-kun…" Goten starts, a bit apprehensively. "I-if you don't mind me asking…wouldn't there be no point in that? I mean…you said they were at war when you left…so wouldn't your entire race probably be…well…completely gone by now? It's been 5 years…"

"I…realized that would probably be the case, but…" he eyes brighten slightly. "But I know that the Chimerajin were planning for something MORE than that! They couldn't just kill them all! For whatever reason, they had us WORK for them, and I KNOW there was some greater purpose behind it!" he shouts, his voice rising in volume. "I was never able to see what was beyond that ranch…the answers that my younger brother N'yan vanished in search of, what lay beyond that castle…I just know the answers were there." He looks up, catching Goten in the eye. "I know my little brother is still alive somewhere. I can feel it. I know that somehow my people CAN'T all be dead…and even if there are just a few of them left, even if there are JUST enough, we can rebuild…we can save our race…we did it once before, we can do it again!"

"Kanba-kun!" Goten says, his serious tone snapping Kanba out of his hopeful fantasy.

"A-anyway…" he mutters, trying to get back on track. "When I got to this planet I did all I could to track him down. I tried to locate the most powerful energy signal on the planet, but there were so many within a similar range that I couldn't feel his out specifically…I figured he must have been suppressing it to avoid such things as being hunted down. From the talk I heard of his name throughout the universe, he made a lot of enemies." Goten and Trunks chuckle slightly, knowing the long-haired boy had hit the nail on the head as far as Gokou's status as a danger-magnet. "So I resorted to more conventional methods and did a bit of research."

"What I ended up turning up was that the last time he was seen was at the Tenka'Ichi Budoukai tournament a couple of months ago. I thought that was perfect, since the information was so recent." He stretches a bit, sitting in the same position on the ground for so long starting to cramp him up. "I made a few phone calls to the friends and family from his most recent places of residence, but kept receiving the same answer when I asked where he might currently be."

"'We're not exactly sure'." Goten says. "That's it, isn't it?"

"Yes." Kanba replies.

"I thought so..." he says softly. "I was in the living room the day that my mom answered the phone. I heard her say that, and I heard the sadness in her voice when she did…I had a feeling it was about my dad. Truth is we really DON'T know where he is. He took off and we haven't heard from him since…as you said, he's suppressing his energy signal so we can't even track him down that way…" Goten sighs somberly. "It's like he's purposely trying to remove himself from all of our lives…"

"Goten…" Trunks murmurs, seeing the sadness in his best friend's eyes. He suspected Goten deep down knew the reason that his father had left was, in addition to fueling his own competitive desire, to keep his loved ones out of the danger that was so drawn to him.

"Yes, well…" breaks in, returning to the conversation. "Just when I thought that my hope was lost, I took another look at the tournament registry and discovered that Son Gokou had a SON who entered into the tournament as well." He looks up at Goten. "His name was Son Goten, and he was currently enrolled in West Capitol High School as a 3rd-year student. Seeing that as a more convenient means of getting closer to you, I enrolled as a transfer student, making certain I was put in the same class as you. Finding out that your best friend, Trunks, was also in the same class, and that he just happened to be the son of the Saiyajin Prince Vegeta, who also took part in that tournament…" Kanba's eyes fall on the lavender-haired boy. "I once again felt my father's spirit of luck shining upon me, and decided to kill two birds with one stone."

"So…then, the reason you got close to us…" Trunks begins. "And…the reason you fought against me and Goten…and you brought us here…"

"It was so I could test the extent of your abilities." He answers. "I knew you would have potential based solely on who your fathers were, but I needed to know whether or not you were strong enough to help me in Son Gokou's place."

"So you nearly got the both of us KILLED in hopes that we would turn around and HELP you?" Goten barks, a bit confused as to the long-haired boy's logic.

"You misunderstand…" Kanba says, trying to reassure the both of them. "I didn't intend for things to wind up this way. When I brought you into the Lost Complex, yes, I had the intentions of testing you, but…I honestly didn't expect Kotaroh of all people to have followed me there…to have managed to track me down, after five long years of my efforts to escape him. It was all a very inconvenient coincidence…and I'm truly sorry I got you both into such a mess." He closes his eyes. "I…completely understand if you don't trust me after something like that…and if you don't want to believe my story. It's a lost cause, anyway…you're probably right, my entire race is gone and nothing I can do will bring them back…" he rises to his feet somewhat shakily, resting his back against the fence. "To be honest, I have no home to return to. If I go back, they'll be looking for me…and if they find out that I killed one of their lead operatives, they'll only send more troops after me. If I stay here any longer, I'll only be putting your planet in danger. They're relentless…" he grips his chain, clenching his teeth tightly. "They're not after me. They're after this chain of mine…this tool for murder." He shakes his head, turning to walk away. "I apologize for disturbing your lives. May you have the best of luck in your future lives."

"Kanba-kun…" Kori sighs sadly, feeling the boy's sadness deep within her own soul. She stands, and Goten and Trunks soon follow suit, no doubt feeling the same.

"Hey, Kanba-kun!" Goten shouts. However, the boy doesn't stop, nor does he turn, only continues walking.

"Dammit, this isn't working…" Trunks curses, bending and gripping a rock in his palm. "Yo, Kanba!" he shouts, tossing the rock after the retreating boy and pegging him right in the back of the head.

"TRUNKS-KUN!" Goten yells at his friend's violent actions. However, Trunks only grins as his plan succeeds, causing Kanba to pause and clutch his head in pain from the rock hurled by the lavender-haired boy's impressive arm.

"Ow…" he grumbles, rubbing the sore spot on his head. Before he knows it, the other three have formed up around him. "W…what? I told you, I'm leaving your planet, now. You don't have to worry about any other—"

"Man, for someone who can sit down for hours on end and tell one story…" Trunks remarks. "You sure don't LISTEN very well, do you?"

"H…huh?" Kanba says, confused.

"We told you before." Trunks stands in front of him and places a hand on the long-haired boy's shoulder. "We're FRIENDS."

"F…"

"Do you honestly think we're going to let you just LEAVE, now, after all you just told us? You MUST be out of your mind." Goten grins, appearing behind him and putting a hand on his other shoulder. "We're not letting you go back alone."

"You…can't mean…"

"Of course we do!" Trunks smiles, slapping the boy on the back. "We're coming with you. And if you feel you need our help…" he looks at the dark-haired boy to finish his thought.

"…We'll be there for you." Goten grins.

"You…guys…" Kanba says in disbelief, unable to control the tears welling up in his eyes. "Thank you!" he shouts, overcome with joy as he grabs both boys and pulls them close to him, hugging them tightly.

"Uh, easy, man…" Trunks says after a moment, a sweatdrop forming on his face. "You can be a little LESS enthusiastic about it…" Kanba smiles, releasing them both and wiping a tear from his eye.

"You have no idea what this means to me…" he says. "I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you…"

"How many times do we have to TELL you, man?" Goten says. "We're FRIENDS. You don't have to thank us, and you don't have to repay us. We've got your back, and all you need to do for us is return the favor." He smiles. Trunks grins wickedly, turning to his younger friend.

"Well, Goten, looks like we've finally got a little action comin' to us!" he grins, cracking his fists. "'Bout time, too, I know I was itchin' for it, and skipping class just hasn't been enough of a thrill for me."

"Same here, Trunks-kun!" Goten replies, flexing his arms a bit. "You know I've been anxious for somethin' interesting to happen since the Budoukai!"

"Well alright, then!" Trunks shouts, draping an arm over the smaller boy's shoulders and pointing into the star-dusted sky above. "It's time for a new adventure, then!"

"Next stop, New Plantsei!" Goten cries, raising his fist skyward. Kanba looks at the two, the friendship of the boys striking a chord with him.

"After so long…" he whispers to himself. "Is this friendship? Not asking for anything in return, just…" he thinks back to the days when he was bullied by the less-privileged boys, and smiles to himself. "Yes, father…I think I finally understand the happiness you wanted me to search for…" he looks up into the night sky, now shining with new hope after so long. "And I promise…even though I know you disapprove…I will avenge you, once and for all…"

And so begins the quest to travel to New Plantsei, in hopes of avenging Kanba's people. But what will be discovered upon arrival? Are our over-exuberant heroes really up for such a steep challenge? And what of Kori? Will she just sit lightly after hearing such a tale? Great new perils lie ahead, but what's truly in store for them is yet to be known…

-END OF CHAPTER 11-


	13. Chapter 12

Dragonball IGNO (If GT Never Occurred)

By SG2

Chapter 12

"Return to Space!! The Journey to Kanba's Homeworld"

Notes-

I…am SO sorry, everyone. Now before you grab the pitchforks and the torches and prepare to show up outside my door in angry mob formation for not having written an IGNO chapter since AUGUST…YOU GOTTA UNDERSTAND!! Ever since school started I've been swamped out of my MIND and I've barely had time to do ANYTHING personal, even DRAW, let alone WRITE!! LUCKILY, with the combination of Thanksgiving Weekend and Dragonball Remembrance Week (Either check my journal on DeviantArt or don't ask…), as well as me having been doing a lot of side-things for Kanba for the past month…I'm both in the MOOD for IGNO as well as have TIME to do it, this weekend. I can't promise more than this one chapter for now, though, and you'll probably have to wait until Christmas Break for the next one…but I DO promise there will be at least 4 new chapters over Christmas break, to make up for the lack of chapters in the past 3 months. Now then, on to the actual chapter. before you read this…make sure you COMPLETELY understood chapter 11. Even if you have to go read it a few more times. Seriously, this is VERY important. Now…we've reached a SLIGHT point of a lag in action, after the big battles in 9 and 10, and the exposition of 11…12 and 13 are going to both be a little more low-key, but nonetheless important, so pay attention to the details. Also, just know that I had a HELL of a time deciphering the actual layout of the universe in the DB world…between the series and the Daizenshuu, I'm pretty much finally sure I've GOT it…so, yeah…I guess that's all I have to say, now, so, enjoy the chapter!!

OH!! AND FOR ADDED IGNO ENJOYMENT, CHECK OUT THE NEW "WHICH IGNO CHARACTER ARE YOU?" QUIZ!!! Since format won't let me paste a link in here, just go to Quizilla and search "Dragonball IGNO". Anyone who reviews this chapter is obligated to take it and tell me who you got. :P

-Alex "SG2" Hoffman 11/26/06

By the time the battles had ended and Kanba finished his story, it was already 2 O'Clock in the morning. The four who had been present during the strange course of events decided to stick around and formulate a plan, rather than go home, after all, with everything that had happened that night, none of them had the ability nor the desire to sleep, nor the intent to go to school the following day. Instead, the remaining hours of the Thursday night which bled into Friday morning were spent coming up with how in the world they would actually GET to New Plantsei…

"Well the first thing we've got to think about is HOW we're gonna get there." Trunks says, leaning against the concrete wall of a nearby building. The city lights glow around them as cars go zooming past through the night, the four having walked from the destroyed section where Lost Complex was to the main streets of Satan City. Trunks turns to the long-haired boy. "Kanba, do you remember where you landed your spaceship when you arrived on Earth?"

"Of course." He says quite matter-of-factly. "I have it hidden away in a place I suspected no one would go, in the middle of the southeastern desert."

"Perfect!! I think I've got a plan, then…I can probably fix your ship up enough to take all of us up to your planet."

"Trunks-kun…" Goten says in a low voice, shifting closer to his lavender-haired friend. "Do you really think that'll work?"

"Of course it will!! Don't underestimate me, Goten, I've studied electronics very carefully under my mom, and if she can do it, so can I!!" he turns from Goten to Kanba. "Of course, it's also heavily reliant on the type of engine we're dealing with…judging from what I've heard from your story, Kanba, and what my dad has told me about Vegetasei after the war, the technology used by the Saiyajin was adapted from Tsufurujin technology…so likely, your spaceship is the same type of round pod the Saiyajin used to use. My grandpa has upgraded those in the past, so assuming it's the same style, I can probably work with it."

"Y-yes, it's a round pod-style ship…" Kanba says, a bit shocked at Trunks' knowledge on the subject.

"Hey Trunks-kun, what if you asked your mom to help? Don't you think that'd be—" In seconds Trunks is in front of Goten just in time to clasp a hand over his mouth.

"Are you crazy?! I can't ask her to help!! If she found out we're going to be gone in SPACE for months, fighting aliens and working alongside another SAIYAJIN, it'd only be a matter of time before she told my DAD!!! And how do you think HE'D handle the news?!"

"Oh, good point…"

"So if this is going to be done, I'm going to have to do it ALONE." After a quick glance at his watch, Trunks lowers his eyebrows, looking seriously at Kanba. "I think I've got a plan…Alright, listen, Kanba, you're going to come with me to my house."

"Huh?"

"I've got to grab a few supplies…and then, you're going to take me to where this ship of yours is. If all goes according to plan, I'll be able to have it fixed up for us to blast off to New Plantsei in five days."

"F-five days? Will you really be able to do it that fast?" The lavender-haired boy grins.

"Like I said. Don't underestimate me." He turns to face Goten. "Listen, Goten, you should probably go home for the night. Me and Kanba have a lot of work to do." Goten's eyes widen.

"W-what? But Trunks-kun, what abou—"

"Go home, Goten!!" he barks, and Goten is taken aback by the harshness of his tone. "I suggest you do whatever you need to as far as training goes over the next five days." Goten is silent for a long moment, but then nods.

"…Right." He says, turning away. "I'll see you in five days." He turns to face Kori, who hasn't said anything in a while. Not surprisingly, Goten figured, it was certainly an unusual situation. "Come on, Kori-chan." He takes hold of her hand and they begin waking away from Trunks and Kanba.

"W-what?" She blinks, brought back to reality from her conflicting thoughts. "Where are we going?"

"I'm gonna take you home. It'd probably be best if you forgot about everything that happened tonight."

"But why?!" she protests, shoving away from the dark-haired boy. "Why are you casting me aside? I'm not some useless toy, I can help, too!!"

"Kori-chan, don't be ridiculous…it's way too dangerous for you to get involved."

"No…NO!!! You can't just DO that!! You can't just turn me away and pretend I wasn't here…that I didn't go through all the same crazy stuff as you guys did tonight, that I didn't see what I saw, and that I didn't just sit for hours and listen to Kanba-kun explain all of that…" she glares, trying to hide the tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "How can you expect me to just "forget" something like that?! You have to let me come to this planet with you!! I don't care if I'm just a human and you're all part of these super-powerful 'Cyber Jeans' or whatever…"

"'Cyber Jeans'?" Goten asks quizzically, though his comment is ignored by the increasingly more frustrated Kori.

"I can't just go home, go to bed, wake up and go to school tomorrow and pretend this all didn't happen…I can't just pretend that my life is the same as usual knowing that all of this is going on…knowing that you and Trunks and Kanba-kun will be off on some alien planet, fighting these strange monsters…please, Goten-kun…you've got to let me come…"

"Absolutely not." Goten and Kori turn as Trunks walks over to them, arms folded across his chest.

"Trunks-kun…"

"There's no way you're coming, Kori. Like Goten said, it's WAY too dangerous."

"Oh shut up, Trunks!! Just shut up!! I'm not going to listen to—" She is abruptly cut off by the sharp sting as Trunks slaps her across the face. "T…Trunks…"

"I'm dead serious, Kori. This isn't a matter of your stupid little rivalry with me, the simple fact of the matter is that you're just not strong enough. It's too dangerous, and you'd only be in the way."

"But I—"

"When will you get it through your Damned head?! This isn't like street fighting with your average Joe Thug!! This is SERIOUS!! Don't you realize that by now? After all you saw tonight, and all you heard through Kanba's story, do you HONESTLY believe you're ready to start fighting against guys like that?!" Kori falls silent, a look of surrender on her face. "Good. Now go home with Goten, and try to forget any of this ever happened."

"Let her come." There are several blinks of surprise as all three turn around to find Kanba, smiling his usual warm smile.

"What…Kanba, are you insane? There's no way she could—"

"That's not true." Kanba cuts in, finishing Trunks' sentence. "There's a very good chance she could become a valuable ally, and trust me when I say we're going to need all the help we can get." He smiles, turning to face the girl. "If it's alright with you, Kori-chan, I'd like you to spend the next five days training with me."

"Really? A-are you sure?"

"Of course." He says calmly, smile never leaving his face. "I can sense great potential inside of you, and I know just how to bring it out."

"…As long as you're absolutely sure about this, Kanba, I guess it's alright to at least let her train with you…Since you're the only one who really knows what we're up against, I guess it's your call, in the end." Kanba nods confidently.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." He smiles, and Trunks sighs in resignation, deciding to leave Kori in his hands.

"Alright, then, it's settled!!" Trunks shouts, getting back to the topic at hand. "There's no time for sleeping now, we've all got a lot of work ahead of us!! Goten, you take Kori to Capsule Corporation and wait, we'll meet you there later."

"Un!!" Goten shouts exuberantly.

"In the meantime, Kanba, you're going to take me to where you hid your ship. I'd like to get a good look at it before I do anything, to get an idea of what I'm dealing with."

"Understood."

"Alright everyone, let's move out!!!"

And with a resounding agreement from all, the four depart, each pair going in separate directions. With a new goal in mind, and a plan ready to be set into action, three of the impetuous young foursome are blinded by excitement, and the promise of a great new adventure…

Only Kanba knows the truth of what they're about to be heading into, and already regrets getting his new friends involved in a battle that there's a good chance they will not win.

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Later, led only by the faint light of the glittering stars, Kanba and Trunks land in the Southeastern Desert. Quietly, Trunks continues to follow Kanba to the location of his hidden ship.

"Damn, it's dark…" Trunks curses, squinting at his surroundings. "Sometimes I really wish Piccolo-san didn't blow up the moon…"

"Really? You think this is dark?" Kanba asks curiously. "This is about how dark the nights on New Plantsei used to be. Of course, our planet never had a moon, either."

Kanba pauses, raising his index and middle finger and causing the pendant around his neck to crackle with lightning. In an instant, a small concentrated ball of energy materializes, bathing the immediate area around the boys in a blinding neon green.

"There, how's that?" he asks, turning to Trunks.

"Er…well it feels like I'm wearing a radiation suit, but at least I can see…" he mutters, shielding his eyes slightly.

"It's just a little further this way." The taller boy says, pointing to his left. Trunks nods and they continue to walk forward until a cave becomes visible. "It's in here."

"A cave, eh? Not bad thinking…" Trunks says as they head into the mouth of the cave.

Kanba leads them a little further in, the glow of his Light Ball making it a snap to decipher their surroundings in the narrow, arid passages. Finally, they reach the end of a particularly long tunnel and, stepping in to further illuminate the passage, Kanba moves to stand beside his solitary space pod.

"Well, this is it." He says matter-of-factly, standing behind and holding the Light Ball over the spherical ship to give Trunks ample light to examine it.

"Hm, just like I thought…" Trunks says, kneeling on the cool ground of the cavern. "It's the same kind of Saiyajin space pod my dad used to use. What LUCK!!"

"Huh?"

"Hehehehe…" Trunks laughs, pounding a fist on the top of the pod and causing the door hatch to open. "If I'm right in thinking this…my grandpa probably still has the blueprints he used when he fixed up Gokou-san's ship so long ago. Granted, it was before I was born…but it's not the kind of thing someone like my grandpa would throw out. I'm sure I could find those blueprints and adjust them accordingly."

"…" Kanba just watches in amazement as Trunks continues to fiddle around the interior of the cramped pod, examining, in particular, the ship's computer terminal.

"So these are the controls?"

"Y-yes."

"Interesting…they do seem kinda primitive, in terms of the other ships my grandpa has worked on…though the engine is certainly faster than anything we could build on Earth, that's for sure." Pulling back, he looks up at Kanba. "The only thing is, we've really no idea how far away New Plantsei is from Earth…Dammit, if only we could contact Kaiohshin…" he curses. "Hey, Kanba, do you remember how long it took you to get to Earth?"

"Hm? Well, I didn't come directly to Earth FROM New Plantsei, recall…" he says, hoping not to discourage the lavender-haired boy.

"Shoot…well I'm sure that the coordinates are encrypted in the ship's computer, somewhere, let me check…" he mutters, turning to crawl inside of the vessel himself, gaining easier access to the electronic panel. "Let's see, here…" he says, fiddling with the various buttons and keys as Kanba continues to watch curiously. "Ah, here we go!!" he exclaims suddenly.

"Find something?" Kanba asks, leaning forward slightly.

"Yeah…this should be it, right here. Let's see, position 5032-KF by ST-47…but…that's…" he pauses, staring at the numbers for a long moment. "But there's no way, at that rate it'd take us a year at LEAST to get there!!"

"A year?" Kanba repeats questioningly. "But it's already been five years since I left!!"

"Aaargh, I know!! And we need to come up with excuses to give our parents for why we'll be gone as it IS!! There's no way my mom's gonna buy any excuse that'll have me gone for at least twelve months…"

"Twelve months? So that's how long it is here?"

"Huh?"

"If a year on Earth is only twelve months long…it would seem that a year in the New Plantsei calendar is closer then to fifteen months on your planet…"

"What? Fifteen…no, there's no way it can be done…" Trunks says, the hope in his voice fading quickly. "Unless…no, there's still a chance…" he crawls out of the ship, rising back to his feet to face Kanba. "Alright, well I'm not going to be able to work on anything until the sun comes up, in either case. For now, let's just go meet Goten and Kori back at my house. I've got a few supplies to collect from the labs, anyway. Come on."

"A-alright." Kanba nods, giving the ship one last glance before following Trunks out of the cave.

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Back at Capsule Corporation, Kanba joins Goten and Kori in the living room as Trunks runs off to the laboratory. The house is dark, but at 3 AM, the sun would still not be up for a couple of hours. With not much in mind to do in their remaining free time before dawn, the trio makes small conversation as they wait on Trunks.

"Man, I'm so BORED!!" Goten groans, leaning back in the reclining chair. "I wish Trunks-kun would hurry up…"

"It's not his fault, anyway." Kori notes. "None of us can really do much of anything until the sun comes up."

"Yeah, good point…hurry up, sun!!" Kori sighs at the dark-haired boy's childlike impatience. "Oh, hey, I know what we can do to kill some time!!" he shouts, running over to the stairs before pausing, remembering to keep the noise volume down with Trunks' parents still asleep in their upstairs bedroom. "Hold on, I'll be right back!!" he whispers, tip-toeing up the stairs and towards Trunks' bedroom.

"What do you think he's up to?" Kanba asks inquisitively.

"Oh, who knows…it's Goten-kun." Kori says, smiling nervously.

Moments later, Goten returns, carrying in his hands a small black console with several wires wrapped around haphazardly it. He brings it into the center of the living room and proceeds to hook the various wires into the television.

"What is that thing, Goten-kun?" Kanba asks, observing the foreign sight.

"This? It's video games. I bought Trunks-kun this console for his birthday a couple years ago, but he rarely ever plays it." He says, frowning slightly at the last bit.

"Video…games? What does that mean?" Goten blinks and look up at the long-haired boy, completely dumbfounded.

"What? You mean you've never heard of 'em before? Well it's…well they're like toys, kinda, only they're high-tech toys and they…um…" He struggles to find the right words, never having been good at explaining things, especially to someone completely unfamiliar with Earth pastimes. "Well, they're just fun, you know?"

"…Okay." Kanba says, not really understanding, but trying to be polite nonetheless.

"Aw, hold on, I'll show ya!!" he chimes, finishing connecting the wires and plugging in three controllers, which he proceeds to divide among Kori, Kanba and himself. "Alright, here we go!!" he grins, sitting on the floor in front of the console.

"What…in the WORLD?!" Kanba exclaims as the fighting game begins. "How…what's that strange box?! And why is it—"

"Hahaha, you're so strange, Kanba-kun!!" Goten says, grinning still. "That's a TV, and it shows the game we're playin'. See, you hit these buttons on the controller and it makes your guy do stuff, like if I hit this, I can PUNCH you!!" he says, simultaneously pressing the button to make his character attack that of Kanba's. "See? It's fun!!"

"So bizarre…" Kanba wonders aloud, mashing buttons here and there and trying for the life of him to actually figure out the strange concept behind these 'video games'.

It carries on like this for several hours, Goten and Kori taking turns essentially humiliating the poor Saifurujin boy until, finally, the sun begins to rise. Taking note of this, the entire room goes silent, and moments later, Trunks joins the other three. He's since changed his clothes and stands before them, seemingly empty-handed.

"Oh hey Trunks-kun. Why are you…weren't you getting supplies all that time you were in the lab? Where is everything?"

"Oh, I've got it all. It's right here." He says, pulling a capsule case from his pocket and opening it up, holding a lone capsule between his fingers. He turns to Kanba. "I've got everything I need, now, and you've shown me where the ship is…I should be all set. I assume you're going to train with Kori while I work on the ship?"

"Right." he nods.

"Well we've got plenty of extra training facilities here at CC, if you'd like."

"No, I've already decided on the perfect location. We'll be fine." He smiles, and Trunks shrugs his shoulders.

"Alright. What about you, Goten?"

"Well, since you'll be busy, I guess I'll just train on my own. I should be all set, though."

"Alright, perfect. We'll all go about our own things for the next five days, then. Whatever you do, everyone, be careful not to let on about what we're doing, understood? We've got to be as inconspicuous about this as possible." Everyone nods, understanding the importance of secrecy. "Alright, then, I'm off to work on the ship. We'll all meet up here Tuesday afternoon. See you all in five days." He says, waving and heading for the door. Before he can exit, however, Goten runs to his side, latching onto the older boy's arm.

"Wait, you're not saying here? But Trunks-kun, how can you work on the ship in the middle of the desert? Don't you need to use the labs?"

"Are you kidding? The whole point is that it'd be way too hard to hide the ship from my mom and dad if I were working on it here. The only option I can see is bringing the materials I need out THERE to work on it. Heh, the world really owes it to my grandpa for inventing capsules!!" he grins, pointing to the capsule. "I've got everything I need packed into a Capsule House here for a makeshift laboratory. I'll be fine, don't worry about it." Goten is silent, reluctantly letting go of his friend.

"Alright, if you're sure." He says. Trunks takes notice of the melancholy tone in his voice.

"Hey, what's wrong, Goten? Come on, you can go five days training without me, can't ya? It's less than a week, don't be such a baby." He smiles, tousling Goten's already messy black hair. The younger boy smiles, looking up at his friend.

"Aw, quit it!!"

"Heh."

"I'm not a baby, Trunks-kun!! In fact, I'm gonna spend the next five days working on a super secret new technique, and you'll really be sorry next time we fight!!"

"Heh, sure." He grins, reaching a hand out to the smaller boy. He accepts, and they shake, confidence brimming in both of their eyes.

"See you in five days!!" they cry simultaneously, each stepping out the door and taking to the sky in two separate directions.

As their bodies vanish into the atmosphere, Kori and Kanba are left standing outside Capsule Corporation, aware that they've got their own work ahead of them. Kanba smiles and turns to look at Kori.

"Alright, Kori-chan. Are you prepared to do anything to make yourself stronger?"

"Yes." She nods. "Anything. I'll do whatever it takes to prove myself as being worthy of fighting beside you guys."

"That's good. Well then, shall we go?" he points off into the distance. She nods confidently, and Kanba continues to smile. "Alright, then, climb onto my back, and let's go!!"

"R-right…" she says, a bit nervous as she complies. Her nervousness turns to total shock in the next moment, when they both take to the sky, bolting rapidly through the sky. A bit afraid to look down, Kori holds tightly to Kanba, completely speechless as to what to make of the situation. "H-how are we…how…"

"Hahahaha!!" Kanba laughs. "Don't worry, you'll be able to do this too, soon enough!!" She tightens her grip as Kanba increases his speed.

"These Saiyajin…just what in the world ARE they?"

That's the last thought that is able to run through Kori's mind before everything becomes a blur.

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In the middle of Southwestern Desert, Trunks lands; on one hand thankful the sun is up so he can see where he is going this time around, though on the other, cursing the desert's blistering heat. Quickly, he locates the cavern and hurries inside, pleased that it's dry and cool within.

"Alright, let's see…it was down THIS way…" he says to himself, hiking through the labyrinthine passageways until finally happening upon the spacecraft. "Here we go…but Dammit, this cave is too small to set up the capsule house…Ugh…" he smacks his forehead, resorting to grabbing the ship and dragging it back out the same route he entered through. "Man, this sucks…" he whines, continuing to haul the heavy thing back out into the desert heat.

Meanwhile, Goten, dressed in his father's style Do-Gi, stands on a cliff in the Northern Mountains. A smile is spread across his eager face, the thrill of danger and the potentiality of getting stronger appealing to him greatly…just like his father, though he would never admit it.

"Alright!! Time to get a whole lot stronger!!"

Inhaling deeply as a wind blows to the south, he begins furiously training himself, determined to get stronger for the impending battles ahead.

Kori and Kanba likewise undergo their own training, on one of the islands off the Southeastern Coast. Kori takes a stance before the long-haired boy, prepared to battle him one-on-one. Kanba simply laughs, causing the girl to blink in confusion.

"What's so funny?" she asks, a slight unintentional twinge of anger to her voice.

"Nothing, nothing!! I just find it amusing that when I say 'training' you automatically assume you're going to be fighting against me."

"Huh?" Kori is perplexed as Kanba steps closer to her, taking her hand in his own. She blushes slightly, unsure what exactly the boy has planned.

"You…you're left-handed?" he asks, to which the girl nods. "Perfect, that'll be an excellent place to start, then." He says, releasing her hand and letting it drop to her side.

Kori watches with interest as he extends his right arm, opening his palm and pointing it at the sandy ground below. In an instant, a wooden trunk seemingly materializes from thin air, which Kanba proceeds to kneel down and open.

"Here we are, just one of these should be enough for now…" he says, pulling out what appears to be one of a pair of heavy-duty arm bracers. He stands, handing it to Kori. "Put this on your left arm." She takes it, noting its light weight in spite of its heavy appearance.

"W-wait a second, what was that trick just now?" she says, just short of equipping the bracer. "How did you just create that box of stuff out of thin air?" Kanba laughs once again at her insinuation.

"Actually, I didn't create it. It's quite impossible to create something from nothing, and in fact, that's going to be one of the main focuses of your training. I merely used a technique of mine to pull it from one location to another…essentially, manipulating time and space itself."

"But if you can do something like that, why do you need Trunks and Goten-kun's help? Could you just, I don't know, pull some super-weapon from somewhere in the universe and defeat those guys by yourself?"

"Well…" He cracks his neck. "Unfortunately it's not as convenient as it sounds. I'm skilled at it to a point that I can only pull objects from within a certain distance to my physical body, and that distance isn't very great."

"I see…"

"This is actually the trunk of ModAmps that my father entrusted me with when I originally fled my planet. Or, at least, the few I have left of them…in the five years since, the others have either been lost or destroyed in one way or another."

"So, wait, this thing is a ModAmp?" she exclaims, looking over the bracer she holds in her hands. "This little thing is one of the amazing weapons those Chimera guys were after?"

"Exactly." Kanba smiles. "But don't let its appearance fool you, don't forget that this pendant around my neck is a ModAmp, as well." He says, fingering the chain. "Not to mention the one around my wrist, which acts as a sort-of amplifier to the main pendant. Don't forget that we had to disguise the weaponry so as to make it inconspicuous so the Chimerajin didn't discover our plans…bracers such as these were used by workers in the fields to do manual labor such as plowing. All of the ModAmps were designed similarly, so they wouldn't look out of the ordinary equipped to the workers…and that's how we planned to carry out or rebellion." His eyes have become tense and serious, and he reaches up to tighten his headband. "Unfortunately, as you know, it didn't work out as such…nonetheless, this is one of the few ModAmps that still remain."

"So what exactly am I supposed to do with it?"

"Undo that clasp there and outfit it to your left wrist, for starters." He instructs, and Kori dutifully obeys. "There. Now, as I explained earlier, what a ModAmp does is NOT bestow incredible powers to whoever is wearing one. To be able to use it, you have to have your own latent power deep inside of you…the ModAmp merely brings that power to the surface and allows you to use it."

"Latent power? But I don't feel any different…" she wonders, raising a fist in the air.

"That's because you haven't practiced with it yet. See, the reason my father believed this technology would prove effective is because the Saiyajin were originally a warrior race. Even though my people were a peaceful group, he told me that regardless of upbringing, every Saiyajin was BORN with an innate fighting ability. My race was pacifistic. We never employed those fighting skills for anything other than perhaps hunting for food. What my father suggested the ModAmps would do would be to release that latent ability in anyone with Saiyajin blood, allowing them to become powerful, even though none of them had trained with those abilities before."

"But how does that apply to me?"

"Well, believe it or not, you've likely got a better chance of effectively wielding that than even the full-blooded Saiyajin on my planet."

"Seriously?"

"Yes." He nods. "The ModAmps would have been useless on anyone without Saiyajin blood. My father, for example, was a full-blooded Tsufurujin. He had no fighting ability within himself, and therefore he once told me that he could only build the ModAmps, he could never USE them. Your race, however, seems to lie somewhere in between the Tsufurujin and Saiyajin in terms of fighting skill…while you certainly don't have the natural combat gifts of the Saiyajin, as a human, you have the ability within you. Additionally, you've experience having trained in the martial arts on your own, do you not?"

"Yes. I've been trained under some of the most prestigious martial arts schools in the world since I was ten years old. M-my parents were rich, and they were pretty much able to give me everything I ever wanted growing up…because after all, everything a child wants can be bought with money." The last part comes out sounding rather sarcastic.

"I see." It's not difficult for Kanba to see right through her pretense, nor to relate to her situation. "Well you've already got a sort-of head start in this training then. It will be a lot simpler to teach you how to control your Ki."

"C-control my Ki?" Kanba nods.

"Yes. If you've dealt with the martial arts, you're no doubt aware of how every living being has its own Ki, or inner energy source…you witnessed first hand the battles I, Goten-kun and Trunks-kun engaged in at the Lost Complex. The visible energy we were able to channel during those battles is a result of being able to control, and, give a physical manifestation, to our Ki."

"And you're going to teach me how to do that?!"

"Yes, and I'm fully confident that you'll learn to be able to do that and more within these five days. If you're unable to even grasp the basics, then that ModAmp will be completely useless to you." Kori glances as the bracer around her arm. "So it's up to you. You can give up before we even begin, should you decide you don't want to come to New Plantsei with us. If you don't think you can handle it, you can back out. It's entirely up to you."

"Not a chance." she says, her eyes holding a steely determination. "I told you I was willing to do whatever it takes, didn't I? I'm not backing out at this point."

"That's very good." Kanba closes his eyes happily and smiles. "Well then, let's begin with the training, shall we?"

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Within no time at all, five days have come and gone. The ship is finished, however, there is yet one last step to take before the big blast-off. Goten and Trunks have to somehow come up with excuses for their parents as to why they'll be gone for so long. So, the duo enters Capsule Corporation, deciding that Bulma and Vegeta should be their first targets.

"Um, 'Kaasan?" Trunks says in a low voice, peering around the corner into the living room, Goten close behind him. "'Kaasan? You there?" After a long silence, he sighs in relief, turning back for the door. "Well, she's not home, better luck next time, I gue—aaah!! Hey!!" he growls as Goten pushes him into the living room.

"Trunks, is that you?" Trunks freezes at the sound of his mother's voice, now wanting more than anything to back out of their plan. Too late, he realizes, when Bulma steps in to greet him and Goten. "Trunks, I thought it was you. Oh, and hello, Goten-chan!!" she smiles.

"B-Bulma-san?" Goten asks in shock, not having seen Trunks' mother since the Budoukai several months prior. As she stands before him now, she looks quite a bit younger…in fact, she looks the way he remembered her from back when he was only a little boy, if not younger. He leans closer and whispers in Trunks' ear.

"Trunks-kun, how come your mom is suddenly HOT?" he asks, not sure how to word his question more eloquently. Trunks smacks his forehead and sighs.

"About a month ago…I guess she was frustrated about something your dad said about her looking like an old lady… She got all fueled up on what I can only ASSUME was impending menopause and decided to go out and get all the Dragonballs, wishing for Shenlong to give her an 'eternally youthful appearance, like those Saiyajin bastards'."

"Ooooooh…" Goten gapes, prompting Trunks to smack him upside the head for giving such looks to his mother. "Ow!! Fine, you wanna play it like that, then? Hey Bulma-san, Trunks has somethin' he has ta tell you!! Somethin' BIG!!!"

"Gyah!!!" Trunks shouts, caught off guard as for where to begin.

"Hn? What is it, Trunks?"

"U-um, well…" he grins evilly, determined to get his friend back. "Me and Goten BOTH have to tell you that we made a decision, TOGETHER…meaning, it was mostly HIS idea…" Goten growls through his teeth as Trunks stammers on. "We're going to…um…camp!! Yes, yes we're going to camp!!"

"Summer camp!! And we'll be gone all summer long!!" Goten chimes in.

"But…it's almost September…summer's almost over…" Bulma notes curiously. Goten clasps a hand over Goten's mouth to prevent further ridiculous outbursts.

"Yes, well, um, hehehehe…it's a special end-of-summer camp…it's…um…oh who am I kidding?! We're going to space!!"

"WHAT?!"

"Space camp!!" Goten adds, prying out of Trunks' grip just in time to SAVE the situation. "What Trunks-kun meant to say is we're goin' ta space camp!!"

"Really?"

"Yes, that's right, why THANK YOU, Goten…" Trunks sweats profusely, struggling to continue pulling excuses out of his ass. "We're going to space camp, and we'll be gone for a month!!"

"At least!!"

"Yeah, a month at least!! You know how gosh-darn excited we can get when it comes to space…"

"…Is that right?" Bulma inquires, cocking an eyebrow.

"Hehehehe…hehe…" nervously laugh both boys, praying that she'll buy it.

"Well, alright…you boys are old enough to take care of yourselves, I suppose. Just make sure you go prepared, and have fun." She says, smiling before exiting the room. Once certain she's out of sight, both boys breath a heavy sigh of relief.

"Can't believe she BOUGHT that…" Trunks notes in surprise. "Though it would have been EASIER without YOUR stupid outbursts!!"

"ME?!" Goten shouts back. "You're lucky I was there to bail your ass out, you nearly caved and told her the whole thing!!"

"Alright, I admit it, the pressure got to me!!!!" Trunks barks, admitting defeat in that area. "Let's just drop it and be thankful that she actually FELL for it. And let's hope YOUR mom takes it as easily!!"

"Ugh, m-my mom next?!" Goten cries, certain that getting Chi-Chi to allow him to be absent for a month if not more is going to be a definite train-wreck.

"Well, no use fighting it, let's hurry up and get it out of the way." Trunks says.

"Why do I have a feeling that I'll be killed BEFORE I get to New Plantsei?" Goten grimaces before being dragged out the door by Trunks.

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Several hours later, Kori and Kanba stand in the middle of the Southeastern Desert, waiting for their companions to arrive. Kanba is dressed in the same outfit he wore during the incidents in the Lost Complex, additionally with a vest that appears about two sizes too small thrown over his bare chest. Kori's apparel appears to consist of a tight sleeveless top with a high collar, with casual jeans held to her waist with a belt and ordinary sneakers. She doesn't appear to be equipped with her ModAmp at the moment, though perhaps it was intentional, to keep it secret from Goten and Trunks for the time being.

Moments later, the boys simultaneously arrive, landing on the ground below to join their friends. Both are dressed in their respective martial arts uniforms; Goten, the familiar Do-Gi of the same style as his father's, and Trunks, in a modified version of the green and orange outfit he wore as a young boy, the only difference appearing to be that it's adult size.

"Are we all ready to go?"

"What excuse did you tell your parents, Kori-chan?" Goten asks. The girl snarls slightly, closing her eyes.

"I didn't tell them anything. IF they even notice that I'm gone, it's not like they'll care." She says calmly, drawing a saddened look from the dark-haired boy.

"Well if small-talk time is over, now…" Trunks says, getting back on topic.

Producing the capsule case from his pocket, Trunks tosses the capsule, revealing the finished spaceship in a blast of cloudy smoke. The others are amazed at the improvements made during the course of five days, particularly Kanba. The finished design looks strikingly similar to the version Son Gokou took to Nameksei, though, since Trunks designed it after the same blueprints, the similarity was to be expected. It appears slightly smaller in size, and while there isn't something as advanced as a gravity simulator, there is incorporated into the design a good-sized training chamber which would be put to good use during the journey.

"Amazing…you transformed my ship into this?" Kanba says, baffled. Trunks nods.

"Yup. And comparing the coordinates to New Plantsei that were encoded into Kanba's computer to the coordinates to NAMEKSEI that were on Grandpa's blueprints…" he says, pacing the area in front of the ship. "Kanba's engine was slightly less advanced than the version my Grandpa worked on, and New Plantsei is even a little further from Earth than Nameksei was before it was destroyed. Based on all that, I concluded that this ship, the way it is now, will be able to take us to New Plantsei in two weeks, perhaps less if we're lucky and don't get caught in any asteroid or magnetic fields."

"Two weeks? Is that really all?!" Kanba yells, amazed with the work the lavender-haired boy has done. "Trunks-kun…Goten-kun…Kori-chan…all of you, thank you so much…you've no idea how much this means to me…"

"For the love of…would you STOP that already?" Trunks snarls, the emotional display sickening him. "We already told you it's not a big deal. We're friends, and you don't owe us anything for helping you out. So quit BELLYACHING over it, will ya?"

"…" Kanba smiles, nodding softly. "Understood. I won't say more of it."

"See that you don't!!" Trunks cries, rolling his eyes. Still, Kanba can notice a smile tugging at the boy's lips nonetheless. "Alright, we all set to go, then?"

"Oh, hey Trunks-kun, I stopped by Karin-Sama's place earlier…" Goten says, fishing through his pocket and pulling out a small cloth bag. "He had ten Senzu left, but I asked him to give me all of 'em. And I asked him not to tell Vegeta-san or my dad, either, if he should happen ta see 'em."

"Senzu, good thinking, Goten." Trunks compliments. "These'll come in handy." Goten smiles. "Alright, then, if that's it, everyone on board the ship!! It's time for blast-off!!"

Geared up and set for the impending adventure, all four pile into the spaceship. Trunks sits down at the controls, powering up the terminal and programming in the coordinates. The other three sit back, seatbelts fastened tightly as the ship begins to violently shake. Within moments, the engines erupt, and the ship is launched from the desert below out into, and quickly past, Earth's atmosphere. Goten and Trunks are both secretly excited for the awaiting excitement, the possibility of strong opponents stirring their Saiyajin blood and overshadowing their fear of the danger. Kori can't wait, either, eager for the chance to test her new skills and prove herself.

It seems only Kanba is taking the situation for what it truly is, aware that the instant they step off that ship, they'll be stepping into Hell. And after the five years since his departure from the planet, he can only imagine the battlefield, or perhaps even graveyard, that it has become. Guilt threatens to rip him apart from the inside, regretting ever having come to Earth…for meeting such great people, and making such amazing new friends…only to lead them to their deaths. But at the same time, he knows full well that he cannot accept his own death in peace until he has avenged his people…and until he finds out, once and for all, what became of his younger brother that fateful day. And as the ship rockets towards New Plantsei, he knows deep in his heart that his return will be far from a triumphant one.

As all four are lost in their own thoughts, they fail to notice that a familiar figure had been undergoing his own private training in that very desert at the time. Distracted, they overlook the fact that a keen sense of hearing picked up on the entire conversation prior to their boarding, and are completely unaware that a certain Namekseijin witnessed their departure from the planet.

-END OF CHAPTER 12-


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